Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot
by Lamminator
Summary: Flightplan Captain Rich and his wife, Joanna, both fly. He's a pilot, she's a former pilot, turned flight attendant. Both are on the E474 flight to New York with Pratt when things hit a little close to home.
1. Nightmares

**A/N: **_'Ello! I thought I'd come up with a new story. If not a lot of people read this or I get some not so nice or bad reviews, I'm pulling it and not posting anymore. This is basically a test._

**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing you recongize from the movie 'Flightplan'. Everything else is mine. Hell, the title isn't even mine...I got it off a Sting album._

_So without any further ado...it begins!_

* * *

My husband, Rich, and I had loved planes and flight since we were both very young. I guess that's what attracted him to me in the first place. Rich and I had met in college and fell in love by graduation. He eventually became a pilot...I did, too, but I only had a private pilot's license; Rich had a commercial pilot's license. 

A few years after we received our licenses, we were married. And we had one of those not-so-ordinary weddings. Our wedding was held on a commercial jet (not in the air, just sitting on the tarmac...it was a lot easier that way).

After we were married, in the States, we moved to England. Rich wanted to move back to his homeland, and I was willing to follow...I'd follow him to the ends of the earth, if I had to. It's not like I'd have a hard time seeing my family or anything. I could fly home whenever I wanted.

A little more than four years ago, we had our first (and possibly only) child; a baby boy we named James Liam. He looked so much like his father...except for his nose; that he got from me. His eyes, though, were a hazel type color; a mix between my light brown orbs and Rich's gray-green orbs. When James started talking well enough for us to understand him, we found that he had a slight accent because of listening to Rich (obviously).

When I found out I was pregnant, then gave birth to James, I had to stop flying for a time; which made me a little sad and irritated. But after I got the okay from my doctor to fly again, Rich didn't want me to fly. We got into a slight argument, but was settled when he suggested that I should try flight attending...that way, I could technically still fly. So I went from being a pilot to a flight attendant. The good thing about that was that I was able to stay home with James more, while Rich actually flew.

Every once in a while, Rich and I would be on the same flight. When that was the case, James would spend the time we were away at Rich's sister's house, who just happened to be James' favorite aunt. It was hard for me to leave him there, but I knew he was in good hands. Sharon (Rich's sister) had a son, named Cole, who was about a year and a half older than James, so he had someone to play with and entertain him.

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One night, I was sitting with James in a rocking chair in his room trying to get him to fall asleep. I was reading to him and by the end of the short book, I felt him fall asleep. Carefully, I set the book on the floor and carried James over to his bed. I tucked him in and kissed his forehead, then turned on his plane nightlight before turning off the main light to his room. Closing the door (leaving it only open a crack), I walked downstairs and into the sitting room, where Rich was reading his own book on the couch, and resting his back against the arm of the couch.

"Is he asleep?" Rich asked over his book, as I walked into the room.

"Finally, yes," I answered, sitting on the couch next to him and leaning against his chest.

Rich put an arm around my shoulders as I put a hand on his chest, under my head. Looking up at him, I grinned sleepily. He returned the grin, then leaned down and kissed me.

"Oh, what was the phone call?" I asked him after we parted.

I had heard the telephone ring while I was with James.

"Aalto," he said simply.

I pushed myself off his chest and stared at him, a worried look crossing my features.

"What? Rich, you just got back two days ago. And they want you to leave again?" I asked.

Rich closed his book and set it on the coffee table.

"I know, Jo. I don't like the idea anymore than you, but you get to come with me," he said softly, wrapping his arms around me, trapping me against him (my hand still on his chest).

"What are the details?" I asked, sighing.

"We leave at the end of the week for Germany."

At least that gave us five days at home yet.

"Three days after we get there, we're to take the E-474 to New York, then immediately come back home on a Boeing 747," he explained, resting his cheek on the top of my head.

"Less than a week. That's good," I said after a moment's hesitation.

"Very good," he agreed, then kissed my head.

I slid my hand out from between our bodies and turned slightly to rest my back against Rich's chest. His arms slid from around my shoulders, down to around my waist. My arms rested on top of his.

Staring off into the gated fireplace on the other side of the room (gated to protect James), I relaxed against my husband as my mind went wandering.

"So what do we do in Germany?" I finally asked.

"I was thinking about that," he replied. "Do you remember our friends from college, Dave and Bridgette?"

"Of course. They were married a few months before we were," I said, looking up at him.

"Yes. They now live in Germany because Bridgette wanted to return home..." he started.

"Like I did for you," I interrupted.

"Yes, and, lucky for us, they're in Berlin. I'll send them an e-mail in the morning to ask if we can stay with them while we're there."

"What a coincidence. And smart on your part," I grinned up at him, then my grin faltered. "And we have to call your sister."

"Yeah, that too," he sighed, tightening his embrace on me.

Rich knows I don't like to leave James...especially at such a young age. Come to think of it, I don't think Rich likes the idea any more than I do.

I looked back into the flames for a few more long moments.

"I need a drink. Do you want anything?" I asked, taking my arms away from Rich's.

"No, I'm okay, Love," he said smirking, using his pet name for me, and taking his arms off my waist.

"All right," I said softly, half-grinning at him, then kissed him.

Pushing myself off of Rich, I got off the couch and went into the kitchen. I took a small saucepan out of the cabinet next to the oven and put it on the stove, then went to the refrigerator to get the milk, then to the higher cabinet to get the cocoa powder and sugar. Putting the milk, sugar, and cocoa in the saucepan, I turned on the stove and heated the ingredients.

When my hot chocolate was as hot as I wanted it (without burning the milk), I carefully poured the beverage in my favorite mug.

After taking a sip, and nearly burning my tongue, I cleaned up the pan before taking my mug back into the sitting room. When I got back in the room, Rich was no longer on the couch...or in the room for that matter. I went over to the fireplace and sat on the ledge, warming my back. (It was a chilly night.) Crossing my legs on the floor, I held my mug in both hands. After staring into the drink for a moment, I took a sip, then set the mug on the ledge next to me.

Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees, then put my hands on the back of my head, pushing my chin to my chest lightly.

I knew I was being the 'mother bear' wanting to protect my 'cub', but I absolutely HATED leaving James so much. Sometimes, I'd think one day I'd come home and he wouldn't remember who I was. I also knew that it was ridiculous to think that way, since James was past the recognition stages of childhood.

"Joanna?"

I lifted my head to see Rich kneeling in front of me, concern clearly written across his face.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine...why?" I said, picking up my hot chocolate again, taking a sip.

"I called your name twice before you gave me a response," he said, putting his hands on my knees. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I answered, staring into the mug, and running my thumbs along the lip.

"Liar," he whispered.

When I looked up at him, he was grinning slightly. Rich, by now, knew when I was lying or upset by something...not that my body language wouldn't give that away.

"I'm sorry," I whispered back.

Rich stood up, then sat on the ledge next to me.

"You're worried about James, aren't you?" he asked.

"When am I not?" I countered.

"He's your son. You're supposed to worry about him, especially since he's still young yet. If you weren't worried, then I would be worried that you weren't," Rich said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at me. I took a sip of my cooling chocolate before I said anything.

"I know...am I being too over protective, though?" I asked, looking back at him.

"No, Love, not at all," he said with a smirk, then put a hand on my back, rubbing it in calming circles. He then leaned towards me and rested his forehead against mine.

Closing my eyes, I grinned slightly, then sighed.

"God, I love you, Rich," I said softly.

"And I you, Jo," he replied with a small chuckle.

When Rich leaned away from me, taking his hand off my back, he searched my eyes to make sure I was all right...something he knew how to search for. Once he saw I was okay, he tilted his head to kiss me fully.

After he pulled back, I lifted the mug to my lips, and drank deeply, savoring the taste.

"What did you make?" Rich asked, glancing at my mug.

"Hot chocolate. Want a taste?" I answered.

"I already have," he growled huskily, with that damn smirk of his.

I laughed a little, nodding to agree with him.

"Do you have any left?" he asked, pointing to the mug.

"Yes, I didn't drink it all...yet," I grinned, handing him the mug.

He took a drink, then handed the mug back to me. Looking in the mug, I saw there was just enough of the chocolate to cover the bottom of the mug.

"Thanks, Rich," I muttered, then downed what was left.

I set the empty mug on the ledge on the opposite side of me, then wrapped my arms around my body.

Rich slid closer to me and put his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around my waist. I brought my arms up to hold onto his opposite shoulder, then ran my hand through his short hair every now and then.

About ten minutes later, my back was getting really hot from the fire behind me. And I was getting tired; James and I were playing games in our backyard most of the day, and he had so much energy then.

"I think I'm going to head off to bed, hun. Your son wore me out today," I said, letting my arms slide from off his shoulder.

While my hand slid off, I curled my fingers to rake them across his back, sending a shiver through his body.

"He's your son, too," Rich said, lifting his head.

"Fine. _Our_ son," I corrected, rolling my eyes with a half smirk.

As Rich slowly let his arms drop from around me, I picked up my mug so I could take it back to the kitchen. When he did let go of me, I stood and started to walk to the kitchen. Just before I completely left the room, I turned back to Rich.

"Who's your co-pilot, Captain?" I asked, biting my lip to keep from grinning too much.

Rich was named a captain a few years ago, almost a year before James was born. It was _my_ pet name for _him_.

"Lars will be with me," he replied.

"For the whole circle of flight?" I asked.

"For the whole circle of flight," he answered.

"Oh, good. I can brush up on my German with him," I said more to myself, then turned and walked to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I washed my mug, then set it on the rack to dry. I made sure everything was put away or clean before I left the room, then went back to the sitting room for a moment. Rich had moved from the fireplace ledge to the couch, taking up his book again.

"You coming?" I asked him, nodding towards our bedroom.

"Not yet. I'll be there in a few minutes," he replied.

"All right," I nodded, then made my way to our room.

I climbed the stairs and went down the hall, into our room, turning on the light on my nightstand. Taking my dark teal, silk-like pajamas (a birthday present from Rich last year) off the bed, I stripped down, then changed into the pants and camisole top. After chucking my dirty jeans and long-sleeved shirt in the laundry basket, I draped my matching teal, terry cloth robe over my shoulders. Tying the belt around my waist, I left the bedroom to check on James before I settled in for the night.

Slowly opening the door to James' room, I walked in, then closed the door just as slowly behind me. I went over to the side of his bed and looked down at him. I had to smile at James: he was sleeping on his back, his mouth hanging open like a fish, and his arms and legs were bent in every way possible.

His shaggy, dirty blonde hair had fallen into his eyes during his tossing and turning, so I reached a hand down and gently moved his hair to the side...he needed to get his hair cut. After I moved the unruly lock, James' mouth closed, and his brow furrowed. He then turned his head away from my touch, followed by the rest of his body, turning to his side.

Smiling a little wider, I then leaned down and kissed his head lightly. I had to pull my head back quickly, though, because his hand came up to swat me away...I swear he had a sixth sense to know when I kissed him sometimes.

I pulled his quilt higher up around his body, then turned to go back to my room. Pausing at the door, I turned my head and looked back at my little boy. He was sound asleep, and I just hoped he would be for the rest of the night. Turning back to the door, I opened it (slowly again), walked out, then closed the door just enough to not let any light into his room.

Walking the few feet down to my room, I untied the belt to my robe. When I reached the bedroom, I took off my robe, slinging it over the chair in the corner of the room. I then folded the sheets down and slid in. I turned out the light on my nightstand and got comfortable.

Hearing the floor creak downstairs, I knew Rich was on his way up. Several seconds later, he walked into the room, then closed the door before walking towards his side (the far side) of the bed. I heard the rustle of clothes, then the 'fomp' sound the clothes made as they went into the laundry basket. There was more clothing rustling as he put on a pair of pajama pants, then there was the soft padding of Rich's feet as he walked towards the bed. I heard him curse when I felt the bed shake slightly.

"Rich? Are you all right?" I asked, sitting up on my elbows.

"Yes, just stubbed my toe," he answered through clenched teeth.

I snorted softly, then brought a hand to my mouth to keep from laughing loudly at him.

"Did you just laugh at me?" he asked.

"No, of course not," I said, taking my hand away from my mouth, then let out a soft chuckle.

The next thing I knew, Rich had swiftly slid under the covers, then put his hands on either side of my body, making me fall back to the bed, and preventing me from going anywhere.

"You _did_ laugh at me," he said, lowering his voice to a seductive tone.

"You caught me," I whispered, bringing my hands up to put them on his back...and he quite literally caught me.

I ran my fingers lightly up and down his back, making him shiver and moan softly.

"Jo, that tickles," he whispered, as his right arm gave way and he collapsed at my side.

"And you think I don't know this?" I asked, tilting my head to kiss him.

Yes, there were times when we acted like newlyweds, but that's what made our marriage fun.

"Mmm, you're warm," he said after our kiss, snuggling closer to me.

"Really? Because I'm chilly," I replied.

"Hmm, I can fix that," he whispered.

Before I could protest to what I thought he had in mind, his body was on top of mine.

"Jeez, Rich, you're crushing me," I gasped, jokingly...he _was_ crushing me, though.

"Are you warmer?" he asked.

"I would be if I could breathe. And if you don't get off, I won't ever be warm because I'll be dead," I squeaked for emphases.

From the little light that came into our room, I could see him frown a little before he slid off of me. When he was at my side again, I took deep breaths to refill my lungs, then turned to face him.

"I thought you had something else in mind when you suggested to warm me up," I finally said, grinning.

"I was thinking about it, but you said James wore you out. I didn't want to pressure you," Rich answered.

"Thank you...if it's still cold, then tomorrow possibly," I smiled. "I am, however, still chilly."

I heard Rich give a low chuckle, as he threw an arm over my waist, rubbing my back to warm it up. He then slung a leg almost completely the whole length down my own, his hip practically on me.

"What about now?" he whispered.

"Better," I smiled.

"Good," he mumbled sleepily.

Before Rich fell asleep, I turned away from him, and adjusted the covers on both of us. He pulled me as close as he could against his body (his arm and leg still around me).

I felt my head sink into the pillow more when he picked up his head. I wondered what he was doing, but when his lips were on my shoulder, I wondered no more.

As his hand left my waist, trailing a path up to my bicep, I shivered, then tried to get even closer to him. He massaged my arm as he kissed from my shoulder to my neck. When he reached my neck, he nuzzled me, then rested his head back on the pillow, his face at the back of my neck. His arm moved from my shoulder back down to rest across my stomach.

"Good night, Love," he sighed against me.

"Good night, Captain," I replied, softly.

Now that we were settled in and comfortable, I could easily fall asleep...and I did just that a few minutes later.

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A few hours later (which really felt like a few minutes), I was woken up when a bright light reached my closed eyes. Groaning, I turned my head into the pillow until the light diminished, then turned my head back, opening my eyes.

"Mommy?"

It was James and he sounded scared. I sat up on my elbows, waking up Rich in the process, and saw my son standing near the door, clutching his stuffed bear, Zeke, close to his body.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" I asked him.

"I had a bad dream," he said quietly.

"Come here," I said, sitting up to rest my back against the headboard.

I held my arms out for him and he walked over to me. Lifting him up, I set him on my lap, wrapping my arms around his small frame; his head rested on my chest, as my head rested on top of his lightly. I looked over at Rich with a worried glance.

James was shaking in my arms, so I held onto him tighter, rubbing his arm and back. I brought my hand up to move his hair away from his eyes and forehead, again, then kissed his head.

"What did you dream about?" I asked, gently rocking him back and forth.

"Monsters were chasing me," he whimpered.

"Oh, don't worry. They won't get you," I said soothingly, rubbing circles on his back.

"How?"

"Because mummy and I will keep them away," Rich said, propped up on an elbow.

"How?"

"You'll be here with us, and we're going to protect you," I answered.

Rich slid over a little in order for James to lay down in between us.

I took my arms away from James so he could crawl under the covers, then I slid back down as well, also propped up on my elbow. My son laid on his back in between us, his bear next to Rich; I put my hand on his chest and rubbed it to calm him so he could sleep again.

Rich put his arm across James to rest on my hip, where his thumb massaged. I smirked at him, even though he probably couldn't see it.

"Close your eyes and go back to sleep, sweetie. We'll make sure the monsters don't get you," I said softly.

James nodded, closing his eyes.

I started humming a soothing song to help him relax and fall asleep faster. When I felt his breath steady after several minutes, I removed my hand from his chest, and dragged my finger slowly over his eyebrow...something my mother did to me when I was little.

When I was sure he was asleep, I put my head back on my pillow with a sigh.

Rich slid his hand up my body to cup my face. I brought my hand up to cover his, then turned my head to kiss his palm.

"This is why I don't like to leave him," I whispered to Rich.

"I know, Jo. I know."

His hand left my face, then slowly made its way back down to my waist, where he stretched a little more to lazily hang his arm.

After another long look at my son, then my husband, I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

* * *

**A/N: **_There you have it! First chapter is done! Let me know what you think, but please, be nice._

_On a side note: was I one of the few to notice that Rich wears a wedding ring? Then there are these ficts out there involving him and Pratt...that's just not cool in my books. (No offense to anyone!)_

* * *


	2. Soapsuds

**A/N:** _All right, well, since no one objected, here's another chapter!_

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I opened my eyes to see neither my son nor husband in the bed with me. I sat up and looked to the chair in the corner...sometimes they like to sit there in the morning, and stare out the window. They weren't there this morning, though. 

Getting out of bed, I grabbed my robe from the chair, slung it over my shoulders, then made the bed before I left the room to head to the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen, I half expected to see Rich and James eating breakfast, but they weren't there either. Stepping up to the counter, I saw that Rich had made some coffee for me...since he doesn't drink it, unless he's flying at night or long distance. I took my mug from last night off the drying rack and poured some coffee into it.

After taking a sip of the beverage, I went to look for the other two. I wasn't worried that they weren't where I thought they would be; they had to be in the house somewhere since there was no note saying they went somewhere else.

I wandered through the main level of our home, then headed back up stairs when I didn't find them. I looked in James' room, thinking maybe they were playing some sort of game, but they weren't there. Going to the end of the hall, to the office, I opened the door to see Rich and James sitting at the computer; James was hugging his stuffed bear to his chest and sitting on Rich's lap as he typed.

"Here you two are," I said, taking another sip of the coffee in my hands.

Rich spun the chair around and both of them smiled at me. I smiled back, then noticed both were still in pajamas, also (Rich had thrown on an old, long-sleeved, button down shirt to keep warm).

"Mummy!" James exclaimed, trying to wiggle off Rich's lap to come to me. James' accent wass very obvious when he yelled or wass excited.

Rich lifted him off his lap, and James ran over to me...never letting go of his bear.

I set my mug on the small table next to the door and picked James up. I kissed his cheek with a resounding 'mwah' as he giggled.

"What are you two doing?" I asked him, brushing his hair away from his eyes again.

"Daddy's reading about Germany," he answered.

"Really?"

James nodded vigorously.

"And what are _you_ doing?" I put my forehead against his, touching my nose to his, also.

"Looking at pictures," he said, softly.

"Ahh," I grinned, then took a few steps over to Rich, bent down, and kissed him. "Morning," I said softly to him.

"Good morning," he replied.

"Did you e-mail Dave and Bridgette?" I asked, standing up right.

"Yes, we should hear from them by tomorrow afternoon at the latest," he said.

"And did you call Sharon?"

"Not yet. I was waiting for you to wake up," he grinned.

I half grinned and said a 'thank you' before turning my attention back to James. He frowned at me.

"Why's daddy calling Auntie Sharon?" he asked.

I glanced at Rich before I set James on the floor. I then sat on the floor in front of him, pulling him down onto my lap, and wrapping my arms securely around him.

"Well, sweetie, daddy and I are flying again, so you'll get to spend a few days with Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jeff, and your cousin Cole," I said, closing my eyes.

"But daddy just came home," James muttered.

"I know, but it's his job...and mine, too," I rested my cheek on his head, convincing not only him, but myself as well.

"When do you leave?" he asked.

"Friday afternoon," Rich answered.

I opened my eyes to look at Rich. He told me the end of the week...I was expecting Saturday night, not Friday.

"Where are you going?"

"What pictures were you looking at?" Rich asked, sitting back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Germany!" he said with excitement, making me jerk my head off his because he was loud.

"That's right. Then we're going to New York in America, where Uncle Roy lives, then we come home," Rich continued.

"When do you come home?"

"Less than a week. Maybe five or six days," I answered.

"Will you get me something?"

"Of course. Don't we always get you something?" I countered.

James nodded, then tried to get off my lap, so I released him. He stood, dropping his bear, and stepped in front of Rich.

"Can I go?" he asked, innocently.

Rich chuckled, picking him up. "Not yet, son. You're still too young."

I've wanted to take him every time, but knew we couldn't do that to him.

James pouted, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.

Since James dropped Zeke, I picked him up, feeling the soft, almost silky, fabric of the bear under my fingers.

"In a few years you can, though," Rich added.

James seemed to perk up a little.

"Did you eat breakfast yet?" I asked both of them, changing the subject.

"No. Daddy won't make me anything," James replied.

"I didn't say I _wouldn't_, I said I _couldn't_," Rich defended tickling James, making him giggle with a squeal, then looked at me.

"Well, that's true," I smirked.

Rich gave me a sarcastic grin.

"Are you two up for pancakes?" I asked, looking between the two.

"Yes!" James screeched as Rich stopped tickling him.

"Shh," Rich said to James with a smile, covering his mouth, then looked at me. "Sure."

"Okay. James, get dressed, then put your toys from yesterday away. I'm going to take a quick shower, then I'll come to your room to get you, okay?" I said, standing from the floor.

"Yes, mummy," he answered.

Rich set him back on the floor and he ran out of the room, thumping down the hall.

"James," I called him back.

There was more thumping as he ran back, then he stuck his head through the door.

"Take Zeke with you," I said, holding the bear out to him.

He came into the room, took Zeke, then ran back out and down to his room.

Sighing, I turned my head to take a quick glance at Rich, then headed to the door.

"Jo," Rich said softly, just as I reached for my coffee.

When I turned around to face him, he stood from the chair and stepped towards me.

"Are you going be all right?" he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Yes, I'm fine...will be," I answered, smiling half-heartedly.

I then turned from his grasp and headed to the bathroom, clutching my mug a little harder than I possibly should.

In the bathroom, I closed the door (finishing my coffee and setting the mug next to the sink), then turned on the water for the shower, letting it heat up. While it heated, I took off my pajamas and robe, placing them on the hook on the back of the door. When I felt the water was hot enough, I pulled the curtain back and stepped in. Letting the water fall over me, I stood so the water hit my face and the top of my head.

Hearing the door open and close, I figured Rich came in. I had a feeling he wouldn't let me be.

I heard the rustle of clothes, then the rustle of the curtain. From behind me, Rich wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. He kissed my shoulder.

Turning in the circle of his strong arms, I put my head in the crook of his neck, then brought my arms up to hold onto the backs of his shoulders.

His left hand slid up and down my back, as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

"I wish we could take him with us," I said sadly, muffled from the position of my head.

"As do I, but he's too young yet," Rich said in my ear.

I nodded, then tightened my grip on him.

We stood that way, under the water, for a few minutes before I lifted my head. Rich picked his head up off my shoulder and stared down at me.

"I'm fine," I said, staring back. "Really. I'm fine, now."

"You're sure?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I'm damn sure," I smiled, then put my hand on the back of his head, pulling him down for a passionate kiss. "At least...I will be until Friday," I added after we parted.

"That's understandable. I just don't want to have to drag you out of Sharon's house kicking and screaming," he smirked.

"I won't do that...I might cry, though," I replied, smacking his arm.

"I can deal with that better than kicking and screaming."

I sighed dramatically before picking up the soap and washing. We all had to eat yet, so (to prevent any thoughts from entering Rich's head) I cleaned up quickly, then got out of the shower as I handed the soap to Rich.

After drying off, I put my robe back on, then took my empty mug and headed to our bedroom to get dressed.

I put on a pair of old jeans and a gray tank top with a green zip-up hoodie over it. Just as I was zipping up my hoodie, Rich walked into the room, wearing just a towel. I pulled my shoulder blade length hair up into a pony tail, while Rich got dressed.

"Will you call Sharon while I make breakfast?" I asked, facing him.

"I was planning on it," he replied, pulling a dark blue sweater over his head.

"Good," I mumbled.

I walked out of our room and down the hall to James' room. Standing in the door frame, I watched my son as he put the last of his toys into the trunk under the window. When he closed the lid, he picked Zeke up off the floor (from where he lay next to the trunk), and put him in the middle of his pillows on the bed.

He loves that bear so much...

When James turned away from the bed, he looked at me and smiled. I smiled back, then crooked a finger, indicating he should come over to me. He smiled very widely at me, then ran and jumped into my arms. I caught him with an 'umph' and kissed his cheek.

"Ready for breakfast?" I asked him.

"Yup," he said, nodding.

I carried James downstairs and into the kitchen, where I set him on the floor. He went over to the table and crawled up to sit in his chair. While he sat, swinging his feet, I went around the kitchen gathering ingredients and equipment. As I put the ingredients in a bowl, I looked over at James.

"Do you want to stir?" I asked.

He immediately jumped off his chair and came over to me quickly.

Since he was too short to reach the counter top, I went to the pantry and took out the step-stool. Sliding it up against the counter, he climbed up. I slid the bowl of ingredients over to him, handing him the wooden spoon.

"When do we stop stirring?" I asked. We've made pancakes so many times, James knows how the batter should look when it's ready.

"When there's only a little bumps," he answered, looking up at me.

"That's right."

James stirred the batter with a look of tough concentration on his face; it made me smile.

When he was done stirring, he got down from the stool and went back to his chair.

"Mommy, can I have some juice?" James asked as I poured the batter onto the pan to make the pancakes.

"Of course, sweetie. Where's your cup?"

"Umm. I don't know. Daddy put it away."

I rolled my eyes, knowing Rich probably put his sippy cup where it shouldn't be. I looked in the cabinet where the cups live, then not seeing it there, I just opened cabinets to find it. Eventually, I found the cup in the cabinet with the plates and bowls.

"Do you want apple juice?" I asked, going to the refrigerator.

James nodded, so I took the juice out, poured it, and put the lid on the cup. I put the juice back in the refrigerator, then set the juice on the table in front of James. Then I went back to making pancakes.

Just as I was taking the last batch of cakes off the pan, Rich walked into the kitchen.

"Just in time," I said, taking the plate piled up with pancakes over to the table.

"You left your mug upstairs," he said, also putting the mug on the table.

"Oh, thank you," I said, then kissed him.

He nodded once, then went to get himself something to drink.

I got some plates and silverware out of their homes and placed them on the table, in each of our places, then refilled my mug with more coffee.

Rich and I sat down on either side of James at the small, square table, and dished out the pancakes; I cut James' cakes into bite-sized pieces before seeing to my own.

"What did Sharon have to say?" I asked Rich after a few minutes.

"She'll be home to look after him," he replied, smiling slightly.

"Okay," I sighed.

After we finished breakfast, Rich offered to clean up, and I wasn't going to complain. He made a bunch of suds in the sink...which caught the eye of James, who obviously wanted to help, just to play in the bubbles.

While they cleaned up, I went into the sitting room to rekindle the fire. I had just lit the wood, when I heard laughing from the kitchen.

"Jo," Rich called.

I got up from the fireplace ledge and went into the kitchen. As soon as I looked in, I started laughing. James had soap suds piled on top of his head, his shirt was soaked, with suds on his shoulders, there were some suds on his nose, and he held piles of bubbles in his hands.

Rich was standing next to him, chuckling, with his own shirt slightly wet.

"What happened in here?" I asked, still laughing.

"This one dropped a plate in the sink, getting me soapy, then decided it wasn't fair that I was covered in soap, so he collected all the bubbles, and put them on himself," Rich answered, looking at James with a grin.

"I see. Well, since you're already wet, let's get you in the tub," I said to James.

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes. You were going to get a bath today, anyway."

"Okay," he sighed, giving in.

Rich took the bubbles off James' head and body, then lifted him off the stool and onto the floor. James started walking towards the stairs.

"Hey, hey, mister. Just wait. Don't go onto the carpet when you're so wet," I said, making him stop just before he reached the carpet of the hallway. I turned and stepped closer to Rich. "And you: don't change out of that shirt just yet," I whispered so James wouldn't hear, then grinned mischievously.

Rich raised an eyebrow, grinning, as I turned back to James. As I walked over to him, I pushed up my sleeves, then wrapped my arms around his waist, picking him up, carrying him up the stairs to the bathroom.

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**A/N: **_All right, there you go. I kinda cut it off at a not-so-good-spot, but I didn't want to make it too long._

_You know what would be awesome? If I got some reviews. I don't care how long they are...they could be one or two wrods for all I care, but I'd like to know if you like this or not and if I should continue._


	3. Thump

**A/N:**_ I wanted to get this out about last weekend, but I went to Canada for a hockey tournament, and couldn't get on my computer before I left...then I had another hockey thing this past weekend...I'm just procrastinating on a paper right now._

_Mad and Wicked thanks to my two reviewers Phantom Creedy Lover and DeceptiveKindness (yes, Rich is very sexy! ;P). You guys made my day!...days really._

_And now on with the story._

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In the bathroom, I set James down, then filled the tub with warm water. As the tub filled up, I helped James out of his soaking wet clothes, tossing them in the sink.

"Okay, up, over, and in," I said once the tub was full, taking off my hoodie.

James lifted his arms up to me, so I picked him up, and placed him in the tub. I turned to open the cabinet under the sink and took out James' bath toys, which consisted of a boat, a rubber duck, and some rubbery figurines. Setting the boat near the edge of the water, I gently pushed it towards him, then did the same with the rubber duck. With the figurines, I just set them on the edge of the tub until he wanted them.

As he was splashing around and making noises with the toys, I washed his hair, being careful not to get the soap in his eyes.

"Head back and close your eyes," I instructed so I could dump some water on his head to get the soap out.

When James was done playing in the water, I drained the tub, and he watched as the toys swirled in the whirlpool of the draining water.

"Mummy, save my toys!" he yelled with worry, pointing to them.

"It's all right, James, they're too big to fit down the drain," I explained, but grabbed them all anyway.

I put the toys back under the sink, then took his towel off the rack, tossing it on his head. He giggled and as I picked him up, he giggled more. I wrapped the towel around him, then put my hoodie back on and took him down the hall to his room.

Setting him on the edge of his bed, I went to his dresser, and took out some clean clothes.

James was still sitting with the towel over his head, lightly kicking his feet against the side of the bed, when I turned around. I snuck up on him from the other side of the bed, and lightly poked him in the back. When he went to turn to look for me, I ducked down, then when his feet started kicking again, I jumped up on his bed, pulled him down and tickled him.

James was laughing loudly and started thrashing about, so I relented, letting him catch his breath.

"Okay, now?" I asked him once he calmed down.

He nodded, so I go off the bed, and helped him into his clean, dry clothes.

"I'm cold," he said softly.

"Come here," I said, opening my arms to him.

He walked into me, so I picked him up, and held him close to my body. I walked back down the stairs and into the sitting room. The fire was roaring now, so I sat on the ledge with him cradled on my lap. James was shivering a little, so I pulled him closer to me and wrapped my arms around him as best I could to preserve his body heat, then rocked him gently.

About a minute or so later, Rich walked into the room. I looked up at him and he grinned at us.

"Could you bring a blanket over here, please? He's shivering," I asked him quietly. "Are the dishes clean now?"

"Yes," Rich replied, then grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and brought it over to us, laying it on top of James. He then sat down next to me, by James' feet.

I smiled at him, then looked down at our son. He had stopped shivering and closed his eyes. I stopped rocking him as I realized he was falling asleep. Rich put his arm around my shoulders and we sat there until James fell asleep.

When James finally nodded off, I looked at Rich, who took the blanket off us.

"Can I change out of this shirt now? It's making me cold," Rich complained.

"Not yet. Let me get him upstairs, then we'll remedy that," I answered in a whisper, grinning at him.

Rich smirked, looking at me with a look of hunger in his eyes.

I stood up from the ledge, holding onto James, then carried him back upstairs to his room. With one hand, I pulled his quilt down enough so I could slide him under. Pulling the quilt back up, and placing Zeke next to him, I kissed his forehead, then left the room, closing the door a little behind me.

Going back down to the sitting room (man, I was getting a lot of exercise), Rich was still sitting in front of the fire.

"You know, the longer you take, the more my shirt dries," he said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Well, I'm here and there shouldn't be any interruptions for a while," I grinned, sitting on the couch. "Come over here."

Rich stood from the ledge and walked towards me. He moved the coffee table a few inches further away from the couch, then stood in front of me. Looking up at him, I smirked, then stood from the couch.

Our eyes locked and I reached for the edge of his sweater. Lifting it slightly, I ran my hands over his stomach, never losing eye contact with him, and making him shiver. My hands drifted back to the edge of the shirt, where I lifted it up and over his head (he pulled his arms out of it when I lifted it) and let it drop to the floor. I then let my hands slide back down his shoulders, over his pecks, and then his stomach again before letting them fall to my sides.

Rich then reached up for the zipper on my hoodie and pulled it down. His hands slid up my sides to my shoulders and pushed the hoodie off and down my arms, where it joined his shirt on the floor.

Quite suddenly, his arms wrapped around my shoulders and he kissed me passionately, making me gasp into his mouth out of surprise. My arms wrapped around to his back and, somehow, he maneuvered me until the back of my leg hit the couch, making me fall onto it...and Rich on top of me. We continued to kiss, hands going everywhere, until I heard a thump from upstairs...then another thump.

I turned my head away from Rich, and as soon as I did, he picked his head up to look down at me. Ignoring him, I stared at the ceiling trying to hear something else.

"What is it?" Rich whispered, panting slightly.

"I heard someth..." I started, then stopped mid-word as I heard James start crying. "Tonight, for sure."

"I'll hold you to it," he growled lightly, then kissed me before letting me up.

"I'm sorry, Rich," I apologized softly, standing from the couch.

Rich took my hand, and kissed it understandingly, then I quickly walked out of the room and up the stairs to James' room.

When I got to his room, I looked in and saw him sitting on the floor, holding his head, and wrapped in his blankets...still crying. I went in and kneeled next to him.

"James, sweetie, what happened?" I asked, rubbing his back.

"I-I-I fell," he said, in between tears.

"Did you hit your head?"

"Yeah," he whimpered.

I sighed quietly, then pulled the blankets from around him. Picking him up, I took his hand away from his head, and kissed where he was holding, letting my lips linger there for a few long moments; I could feel a bump starting to form. When I stopped kissing him, his crying slowed, reducing him to sobs.

As I walked around the room, with him in my arms, in an attempt to get him to calm and fall asleep again, he rested his head on my shoulder. I rubbed his back again, as his sobbing lessened more.

"What happened?"

I turned to the door to see Rich standing in the frame...a new, dry shirt on him.

"He fell off the bed, hitting his head," I answered.

Rich walked over to us, standing at my side so he could look James in the eye. He put his hand on James' back, just below the nape of his neck.

"Does your head hurt?" he asked, gently, tilting his head down to be level with James.

"Yeah," James replied in another whimper.

Rich moved his hand from James' back to the top of his head, petting him in a sense. I glanced over at him and saw his brow furrow when his hand stopped...he must have found where he hit his head. His hand slid to James' back again, and leaned down to kiss his head. When he pulled back slightly, he looked at me.

"Ice?" he asked.

"Maybe just a little," I said.

"All right, I'll be right back," he said to me, then looked at James before taking his hand away, and walking out of the room.

As Rich walked away, James's sobs diminished, and he was taking short, quick breaths. He was going to have the hiccups then pass out if he wasn't careful.

"James, take deeper breaths, honey. You're going to get hiccups," I told him, leaning my head against his.

He attempted to take deeper breaths as I walked over to the rocking chair, near the window. Before I sat down, I shifted the way I was holding James, cradling him, so he could rest comfortably on my lap. I rocked the chair and hummed to him as his breathing returned to normal, with the occasional shorter breath.

He had closed his eyes to try to sleep again. He must have had a headache, also, given the expression on his face: his eyes shut tight and slightly frowning.

Several seconds later, Rich came back into the room, and back over to us; he carried a small bag of ice. Kneeling down next to the chair, I stopped rocking, and he placed and held the ice on James' head.

James opened his eyes and looked up at me before he tried to look for his father, just out of his eye sight.

"How does your head feel now?" Rich asked, leaning over him. With his free hand, he brushed some of James' hair away from his eyes.

"Better," James answered softly, then closed his eyes again. He then curled up on his side, snuggling into me, as he prepared to fall asleep.

Rich leaned back, still holding the ice to James, and stared at me. I knew what he was thinking.

'I'm fine,' I mouthed.

How many times have I said that in the past two days...?

He raised an eyebrow, asking silently if I was sure.

I nodded once, with a grin, then looked back down on my son. Bringing my right hand up (since his head was on my left arm), I lightly ran a finger over his eyebrow. When he didn't try to struggle to get away, I knew he was sleeping again.

Rich took the ice away from his head, setting it on the window ledge, and I stood from the chair with James still snuggled against me. I carried him over to his bed and gently laid him down, while Rich picked the blankets off the floor. He then put them on James, tucking him in.

As Rich fixed James' blankets (and made sure Zeke was at his side), I grabbed the melting ice before it did something to the wooden ledge, and left the room. I took the ice down to the kitchen and dumped it in the sink. Leaning against the counter, I looked out the window above the sink.

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**A/N:**_ That was a bad place to stop. Sorry, but I didn't want to make it too long._

_More soon! And keep those reviews coming! ;D_


	4. Dishwashing, Snow, and Dancing

**A/N:** _I have another hockey tournament this weekend, so I thought I'd be nice and post another chapter before I left...and a long one at that. So enjoy!_

_

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_

It was starting to snow lightly...I just hoped that it wouldn't snow too much to last until Friday or flying was going to be hell. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, it's just not good flying weather at all. 

While I was staring out the window, Rich came up behind me (pressing up against my back), and slid his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. I leaned my head against his momentarily, then turned it to kiss his temple.

"Did it just start snowing?" he asked, keeping his gaze out the window.

"Maybe. I don't know. I just noticed, too," I replied.

"I hope it doesn't stay around 'til Friday," he commented, echoing my thoughts. He then took his arms from around my waist, and ran his hands up and down my bare arms.

"I was thinking the exact same thing."

Rich turned his head and smirked at me. Picking his head up off my shoulder, he kissed me briefly, then backed away from me.

"Thank you for finishing the dishes," I said, turning to face him.

"You're welcome," he grinned.

I returned his grin, then headed towards the hall. "Oh, where did you put your wet shirt? I'll put it in the dryer with James' clothes," I asked, turning back.

"On top of the dryer," he answered.

Nodding, I went back up to the bathroom, grabbed James' clothes, went back downstairs, and into the short hall, next to the kitchen, where the washer and dryer live; the door to the backyard was at the end of the hall...very convenient.

I found Rich's sweater where he said he put it, so I tossed it in the dryer along with James' wet clothes, then started the machine. When it began, I went into the sitting room, and found my hoodie. Rich must have picked it up and slung it on the back of the couch. Putting my hoodie back on, I sat on the couch in front of the fire, and put my feet on the coffee table...which Rich moved back to its normal spot.

Rich came into the room and sat on the couch next to me. Without speaking, he put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder with a sigh. He kissed the top of my head and we sat there in front of the fire until James woke up.

When James sleepily walked into the room a few hours later, dragging Zeke behind him, he asked for something to eat.

Getting off the couch, and out of Rich's grasp, I took my son's hand and we went into the kitchen to get a snack. After he finished eating, I told him it was snowing, and looking out of the window, I saw there was a light dusting of the powder on the ground and it was still coming down. James came over to me to look, so I picked him up so he could look out of the window himself. A wide smile appeared on his face as he saw the snow...he loves snow just as much as I do.

James tried to wiggle out of my arms, so I set him back on the floor and he went running into the hall leading to the backyard. Following him, I saw he was sitting on the floor, attempting to put on his snowsuit.

"And what do you think you're doing?" I asked him, standing at the end of the hall, arms crossed over my chest, watching him with a smile on my face.

"I'm going out in the snow," he answered simply.

"There's not enough snow out there to play in yet, sweetie," I said.

He paused in getting his suit on, looking up at me, sadly.

"But when there's more snow, we'll go out and make lots of snowballs to throw at daddy, okay?" I said, reassuring him.

"I heard that!" Rich called from the other room.

"No you didn't!" I called back.

"Promise?" James asked, looking up at me.

I got down to his level, smiling at him. "I promise."

He smiled again, then took off the snowsuit. After getting off the floor, he ran into the sitting room with Rich.

Once again, I followed him to see him sitting on Rich's lap on the couch where we left him.

"What are you and mummy planning?" Rich asked him.

James looked at me before answering. "Nothing," he said innocently.

"Is that so?"

James nodded.

"I see," Rich said, then tickled James' sides, making him laugh and fall on his back onto the couch; I stood behind the couch, watching them.

After a few moments, I told Rich to let James up. He did so, and James sat up, then stood on the couch.

"Hey, sit down. What did we tell you about standing on the couch?" I asked him.

"Don't do it," he answered, flopping on his bottom back onto the couch.

He bounced in his seat for a moment, then stopped.

"Can we play a game?" he asked, looking from Rich to me.

"Of course," Rich replied, grinning at James, who ran off to his room to get a game.

For the remainder of the afternoon, we all played games next to the fire for warmth. When dinner time rolled around, Rich and James cleaned up the last game we were playing, while I made something to eat. As soon as they walked into the kitchen, after taking the game back up to James' room and washing up, I had dinner ready.

We sat at the table and ate, then after the dishes were put in the sink (for me to clean later), we moved into the family room since James wanted to watch a movie before he went to bed. Something I had no problem with since he normally falls asleep a little more than half-way through the movie.

While Rich put one of James' movies in the DVD player, James and I curled up and got comfortable on the couch. Once Rich had everything set up, he turned off the light, and took a seat next to me, leaning where the back of the couch meets the arm. I leaned back against him, as James laid against me.

As predicted, half-way through the movie, James fell asleep.

"Rich," I whispered to him, tilting my head up. "James is asleep."

"So take him up to his room," he whispered back.

"He's laying on my leg, and I can't get up."

"Well, you're laying on me."

Once he said that, I leaned forward slowly, so I wouldn't wake up James, and let Rich slid out from behind me. He got up from the couch and scooped James up in his arms, then took him upstairs.

While he was out of the room, I took James' movie out of the player, and put a more adult movie in for Rich and I...no, not _that_ kind of adult movie. Just something in the 'R' rating instead of 'G'.

When Rich came back downstairs and into the room, he flopped down on the couch, while I was in the kitchen...getting some hot chocolate. Coming back into the room, I grinned into my mug, then stood next to the couch waiting for him to move so I could sit down. He moved a leg out, indicating I should lay in between his legs. So I set my mug on the floor, right in front of us, then crawled on the couch where he gave me room, resting most of my torso on his chest and my head under his chin. Rich then picked up the remote and played our movie...every once in a while, one of us would reach for the mug of chocolate.

After our movie was over, I took my mug out into the kitchen, while Rich took care of the television and DVD player.

Since I was cleaning my mug, I decided to clean the rest of the dishes from dinner. While I was scrubbing a plate, I leaned over the sink more to look out the window to see how much snow had fallen. Quite suddenly, Rich was behind me, and grabbed my hips to pull me into him. He surprised me, making me gasp and drop the scrub brush in the sink, but, thankfully, I held onto the plate.

"God, Rich. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked him, setting the plate back in the sink.

"No, not a heart attack," he replied huskily, in my ear, then proceeded to kiss my neck. "It is a chilly night," he said in between kisses.

"Can I at least finish the dishes?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"They can wait," he said, still husky, then put an arm behind my shoulders and knees, picking me up and taking me up to our room.

That night, Rich used a different way to keep both of us warm.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, I woke up before Rich, so I got out of bed stealthily, then got dressed. I walked down the hall to James' room to check on him. In his room, I pulled the curtain to his window back and looked to see how much snow had fallen since I was unable to tell the previous night. There was about six inches of snow, so I woke up James telling him so. He jumped out of bed almost immediately, changed (with my help), and ran downstairs to put on his snowsuit.

"Wait, sweetie, wait. We have to eat before we go out to play," I said, just as he reached for the suit.

"But you promised," he complained.

"I know, and we will go, but you have to have a full belly so you can play longer," I said, lightly poking him in his stomach.

"Okay," he gave in.

We went into the kitchen, and since James wanted to play in the snow so much, we just had some cereal. As soon as James was done eating, he ran back to the hall and started pulling on the snowsuit. He needed my help pulling it over his shoulders and zipping it up, but he was ready to go, and I was slowing him down. He was practically jumping up and down at the back door, while I grabbed my coat. I put on the coat, then my hat and boots. I made James stand still long enough so I could put his hat on his head and his mittens on his hands, then tie up his boots. Putting my own gloves on, I opened the door, making James practically run out the door, and almost fall face first into the snow.

We were running around the backyard for a while making snowballs and snowmen, when I heard the door open and close. Looking up, I saw Rich bend down and pick up some snow. Grinning, I made a quick snowball and threw it at him before he had the chance to throw it at us. I hit his shoulder with the ball, then he threw his snowball at me, grinning also. I ducked out of the way just in time and jumped behind the snowman James and I made.

I called James over and hid him behind the snowman with me, where our pile of snowballs sat. James started laughing as he attempted to throw a snowball at Rich. It only went a few feet in front of him, but Rich reacted as if it hit him square in the chest. I laughed at Rich's over-dramatic acting as he fell on his back into the snow.

I whispered to James to run over and jump on Rich. He did so with a wide smile, but before he was able to pounce, Rich sat up and lightly hit him with a snowball. James screeched, then came running back to me behind the snowman, latching onto my leg.

When James let go of me, he handed snowballs to me as I threw them at Rich. One ball actually hit him in the face, making him bring a hand up to his cheek, and almost double over, so I rushed over to him to see if he was all right. That was a mistake on my part. He grabbed my arms and playfully threw me down in the snow, smirking, then trapped me there by placing his body over mine and kissing me.

James came running over to us, laughing, and jumped on Rich's back, demanding that he let me up. Rich pulled James off his back and set him in the snow next to me.

"Looks like I won," he said, grinning at us.

"This time," I answered, since James was still giggling.

Rich let us up, helping me to my feet first with a kiss, then picked James up, lifting him above his head before he hugged his son.

"Let's get inside and warm up," Rich said.

I nodded, and Rich carried James into the house. Rich and I took off our gloves, boots, and my hat, before I took off James' boots, hat, mittens, and snowsuit, while Rich held him still. Anything that was wet from the snow was hung near the washer and dryer to dry. The three of us then moved into the sitting room to sit by the fire and warm up.

Since Rich wasn't outside as long as James and I, he didn't sit by the fire long. He decided to go upstairs to check his e-mail to see if we got a response from Dave and Bridgette.

"Rich," I said, stopping him before he got too far away from us. "Since you're checking e-mail anyway, could you send an e-mail to my brother? Let him know we're going to be in New York...and see if he can send us some Oreos?"

"You and those cookies..." he muttered. "Yes, I'll e-mail him."

I smirked and turned my attention back to James, who was sitting on the floor in front of me (he's not allowed to sit on the ledge yet), playing with a toy car.

About ten minutes later, Rich came back downstairs to see James in my arms, laughing, and us dancing around the room. I saw him as we spun towards the stairs, then stopped.

"Mind if I cut in and dance with mummy?" he asked James.

"You want to dance with mommy?" James asked, looking at Rich with confusion.

Rich nodded.

"I don't think mommy can hold you," James replied with a perfectly straight face.

I burst out laughing, holding tighter onto James so I didn't drop him; Rich started chuckling.

"You're right. Mummy can't hold me...but I can hold her," he said to James.

Comprehension dawned on James' face, and I set him on the floor. He went over to the couch and crawled on it.

Once James was on the safety of the couch, Rich put his arms behind my shoulders and knees, and picked me up off the floor. My arms wrapped around his neck as he spun us in a few circles before setting me back on my feet. I heard James giggle as Rich put his left arm around my waist and took a hold of my left hand with his right; my right hand rested on his muscular, left bicep. We danced around the room, including around the couch, as James watched us and continued to laugh, until Rich and I both got slightly dizzy. We then sat on the couch on either side of James and rested.

"Dave and Bridgette say they will be more than happy to house us while we're there. They'll even pick us up at the airport," Rich said, as James slumped against him.

"That's good. Saves us money on rental car and hotel," I said softly, stroking James' cheek.

"I sent them the details of our flight and that good stuff...and I sent an e-mail to your brother."

After a short rest, the remainder of the day was spent doing things around the house: James and Rich cleaned up little messes in every room, while I took care of the dishes from the previous night and the morning.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well, there you go._

_Maybe I'll have another one out next week...to celebrate the end of my finals and end of the (college) semester. :D_


	5. Aunt Sharon's House

**A/N: **_I'm sorry for not getting this out sooner. My Beta kinda forgot about me, so I'm on my own from now on. So if something is wrong with my grammar, spelling, or what-not, I'm sorry for that, too._

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Before we knew it, Friday was upon us...and the snow was gone. 

Rich and I were both slow to get out of bed that morning, neither of us really wanting to get up, let alone fly. I was beginning to feel depressed and worried as soon as I woke up, and I think Rich sensed that.

When we finally got out of bed and dressed in our uniforms, we took our flight bags downstairs to wait by the front door until we were ready to leave.

While we still had time before James had to be woken up, we ate a light breakfast, then went around the house making sure everything that didn't need to be on was turned off and things were put away. Once that stuff was taken care of, I went up to James' room.

James was just starting to wake up when I walked in. I sauntered over to his chest of drawers to get out some clothes for him. Turning back to him, I saw that he was sitting up in bed, yawning, and looking as sleepy as ever.

"Good morning, sweetie," I said, setting his clothes at the foot of his bed.

"Morning, mommy," he replied, rubbing his eyes.

I went over to the window and opened the curtain, letting light into the room.

"Come on. Time to get up and ready to go to Aunt Sharon's," I said, sitting on the edge of his bed.

James nodded, then crawled out of his bed, picking up the clothes I got out for him. He started dressing, needing my help occasionally.

When he was done dressing, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, while I picked up his travel bag (that we packed the night before) and Zeke. After he finished in the bathroom, I took his hand as we went downstairs. I set his bag next to Rich's and mine, then we went into the kitchen to get him some food. Rich was sitting at the table, drinking tea...like the true Englishman he was. James took his seat next to Rich, while I got his breakfast.

After James finished his breakfast (and Rich finished his tea), Rich went to pack up the car. When he came back in the house, I helped James into his coat, then put on my own.

"Ready to go, James?" Rich asked him.

He nodded, then turned to me, lifting up his arms for me to carry him to the car. I picked him up willingly, and held him close to me. Looking over James' shoulder to Rich, I saw him give me a sympathetic grin.

"Where's Zeke?" I asked softly.

"He's in the car," Rich answered, then opened the door for us.

I walked through the door and down the four steps, then waited for Rich to close and lock the door behind us. When he did, he walked up to me, kissed my forehead, then put his hand on my lower back, guiding us to the car.

Rich opened the back door, on the driver's side, so I could put James in his car seat, then he went to get behind the wheel.

When James was strapped in, I handed Zeke to him (who was on the seat beside him), kissed his head, then got out, closing the door. I walked around the car to the passenger's side and got in the front seat, next to Rich.

As Rich backed the car out of the driveway and started driving to Sharon's, I turned to look back at James. He was clutching Zeke to his chest and was starting to nod off...good thing, too; it was about an hour drive to Sharon's house. Turning back around, I sighed staring out in front of the car.

Rich glanced at me briefly, then took my hand in his, as he kept his eyes on the road. I grinned gratefully at him, covering his hand with my left, patting it.

A little more than an hour later, Rich pulled up to Sharon's house. I took an extremely deep breath, then turned to look at Rich, then James, who was still sleeping.

"He'll be fine, Jo. Sharon will take very good care of him, just like he was her own child," Rich said softly, turning off the car, and bringing his hand up to cup my cheek.

"I know. And I love Sharon for doing this for us," I started, closing my eyes against his touch momentarily. "But can you blame me, Rich? After the nightmares and then falling out of bed the other day? Now is not a time when I want to leave him."

"No, I don't blame you. Bloody hell, Jo, I don't want to leave him either, but we have to," Rich said, bringing his other hand up to the other side of my face.

"I know, I know..." I muttered, then feeling my eyes start to burn, I shut them again.

I heard Rich sigh softly, then leaned to rest his forehead against mine. He ran his thumb over my cheek and I could just imagine he was wiping away a tear. Taking his forehead away from mine, his lips gently kissed my cheek, where he removed the tear. I opened my eyes when he took his hands away from my face and hugged him; he hugged me back.

"I told you I might cry," I said in his ear, then pulled back.

Rich grinned, then after another kiss, we got out of the car.

While Rich went to the trunk to get James' bag out, I woke James up to get him out of the car.

"James, we're at Aunt Sharon's. Time to get up and out," I said softly, waking him.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. I took Zeke out of his hands and turned to hand the bear to Rich, who had gotten the bag out of the trunk and was standing next to the door. After unhooking James from his car seat, I picked him up, and took him out of the car, being careful not to hit his (or my) head.

When we were both out of the car, Rich closed the door as James put his head on my shoulder, still trying to wake up. Rich put his hand in between my shoulder blades and we walked up to the door.

A few seconds after Rich knocked on the door, it opened to reveal a smiling Sharon with Cole standing behind her. Any idiot could tell that this woman was the sister to my husband; the similarities between the two were quite obvious.

"Rich. Jo. So good to see you," she said, giving both Rich and I a hug (though that was a little difficult with James in my arms). "And James, of course."

James lifted his head to smile at his aunt. When he caught a glance of Cole behind her, he woke up completely and struggled to get out of my arms to go play. I set him on the ground, and he chased his cousin around the first floor of the house.

"Come in," Sharon said, standing to the side to let us in her house.

Once Rich and I stepped into the house, Sharon closed the door behind us, leaving the cold weather outside. Rich set James' bag and Zeke on a chair near the door.

Sharon walked into the kitchen and we followed her, since she motioned for us to do so. In the kitchen, I saw that Sharon was baking, but what she was baking, I couldn't exactly tell...smelled like brownies, though.

"Would you like something to drink before you head out?" she asked us.

I looked at Rich for a time check since he never really told me what time our flight was.

"Something quick, I suppose," he answered.

Pulling out three teacups, Sharon poured us some tea. The three of us sat around the kitchen table while we drank. Directly in the next room, the sitting room, James and Cole were sitting on the floor playing some sort of game. Sharon started a conversation with Rich, but I wasn't paying attention...I stared into my cup of tea, my mind drifting.

I felt Rich stand up from next to me. Looking up at him, he put his hand on my shoulder signaling he'd be right back. I looked over at Sharon quizzically, who just glanced into her cup as she took a sip.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at her.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she replied, grinning ever so slightly as she set her cup back down.

"Sharon..." I warned.

She sighed. "You don't have to worry about James. I promise you I'll take excellent care of him, and if something should happen, which it won't, you have permission to beat me silly."

I let out a laugh as she said the last part.

"I know there's nothing to worry about, and I know you'll take care of him, but it's just...I hate not being able to be here with him if he gets scared or something like that. You must go through the same thing when you leave Cole with us," I stated, more than asked.

"Yes, I do. When we were first leaving him with you, I practically cried myself to sleep every night we were away from him, but now that he's older, I don't feel so guilty for leaving him," Sharon explained.

Maybe she was right. Maybe the older James got, the less I'd have to worry about him.

"You have a point," I mumbled, taking a drink of my tea.

Sharon smiled, then took another drink from her own cup.

"Is there anything I should be wary of? You said something about James getting scared," she asked.

"Oh, yeah. He's been having nightmares lately about monsters trying to get him. I think as long as someone's with him, he'll make it through the night," I said, swirling my tea.

"Okay, no problem. He and Cole share his bed," she smiled.

A slight weight was lifted from my shoulders...but not much.

"And the other day, he fell out of his bed while taking a nap. I can't tell if it's just one of those once in a while type things or if it's going to be a habit."

"Another small thing. We'll have him sleep next to the wall, while Cole sleeps near the open edge."

Another small weight lifted.

Rich came back into the room and retook his seat next to me.

"We should leave soon," he said, drinking the last of his tea.

I nodded, gripping the cup with both hands. Looking up, I saw James and Cole walk into the kitchen, and James came over to stand next to my chair.

"Daddy said you were leaving," he said.

"Yeah, sweetie, we're leaving in a few minutes," I replied, pushing my chair back to face him.

His bottom lip quivered slightly before he threw his arms around my neck. My arms instinctively wrapped around his small frame as I stood, holding him against me.

"Excuse us," I said softly, turning to Rich, Sharon, and Cole before I walked down the hall with James, and into the family room. I sniffed before setting him on the ground and kneeling in front of him.

"James, why are you crying? If you cry, you'll make me cry, and I don't want to do that," I said, looking into his eyes.

"I don't want you to go," he whimpered.

"I don't want to go either, sweetie, but I have to. Daddy and I have to work," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"Why?"

Tears were falling from his eyes now.

"Because we like to fly and for reasons that would get lost on you," I answered, then continued. "Why are you doing this now, James? You haven't done this before."

I hugged him again, pulling him tightly against me as he cried into my shoulder. Closing my eyes tightly, I willed myself not to cry along with him. I rubbed his back to calm him down and picked him up again to walk around the room in another attempt to calm him.

"Please, stop crying, James," I whispered.

When I faced the hallway, Rich was standing there, watching us.

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking into the room and over to us.

"He doesn't want us to leave," I said after clearing my throat.

Rich held his arms out, signaling he wanted to hold James. When I handed James to him, Rich held him on his hip, not letting him rest his head on his shoulder. I stood behind James so he wouldn't see me if I started crying; I held my left hand over my mouth as I brought my right arm across my chest to support my left elbow.

"James, why are you doing this?" he asked, gently, yet sternly, looking him in the eye.

"I don't want you and mommy to go," James wailed.

"We'll be back in a few days. You'll be having so much fun here with Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jeff, and your cousin Cole, the days will fly by and before you know it, we'll be home," Rich said, setting our son on the ground and kneeling in front of him.

No pun intended, right Rich...?

James sniffed a few times, then ran the back of his hand across his eyes.

I turned my back to them as I silently let my own tears fall. James had never acted like this and it was killing me.

"Okay now?" I heard Rich ask James.

"Yeah," he answered, squeakily.

"All right," Rich said softly, then I heard the rustle of clothes, so I assumed he hugged his son. "Go in the kitchen and ask Aunt Sharon for some water."

Without turning around, I knew James ran out of the room. In another moment, Rich was behind me, placing his hands on my arms. I spun around wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his chest, trying to stifle my tears. Rich put his arms securely around my back and waist, holding me as close to him as he could.

"He's never done this before," I said, but the phrase was muffled by his chest.

"He's all right now," he said, resting his head on my shoulder.

"I heard," I said, pulling my head away from his body.

"We have to go," he said softly, resting his temple against mine.

I nodded against him, then pulled back to wipe at my eyes, sniffed a few times, and cleared my throat.

Once I got control of myself again, we walked back into the kitchen to tell Sharon we had to leave to catch our flight (not like they could go anywhere without Rich). Sharon walked us to the door to say good bye; she gave us both hugs, then James came up to me again. I knelt down to him, giving him one last hug.

"Be good for Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jeff, okay? We'll be back before you know it," I said, rubbing his back and kissing his forehead.

"I will, mommy," he said, sniffling again, then kissing my cheek.

I kissed his cheek, then pulled back and smiled at him. I then stood so Rich could hug him.

"Don't forget to get me something," James said to Rich, who chuckled.

"We won't forget," he replied, kissing the top of his head.

When Rich stood up, we walked out of the house. Just as we were about to get in the car, I turned back to Sharon, who was standing at the door.

"Oh, Sharon, make sure James hashis bear when he sleeps," I called back.

"No problem," she answered with a wave. "Have a safe trip."

Rich and I waved back, then got into the car. As we drove off, I didn't even attempt to look back, afraid that if I did, I'd cry again...I didn't want to cry anymore.

Once we were out of Sharon's neighborhood, I stared at the dashboard trying to figure out why James was acting the way he was.

"Jo, you all right?" Rich asked, glancing at me as he drove.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," I answered.

"You're sure?"

"Yes...and when we get to the airport, I'll be better. My mind will be on work, not our son."

Rich grinned at me, taking my hand again.

* * *

**A/N: **_There ya go! I should have another one out a lot sooner than this one._


	6. Old Friends and Spilled Soda

**A/N:**_ Sorry for such a long update. I had a hockey tryout the past two weekends...and I have yet to know if I made the team. Jerks couldn't decide then. I'm also still in the proccess of finding a job, so I haven't had much time for the computer. But I'm giving up some sleep for you guys! Be happy!_

* * *

About another hour and a half later, in the opposite direction of Sharon's house (Sharon and Jeff were about halfway between our house and the airport), we reached the Leeds Bradford International Airport. Rich parked the car in the employee lot and we got out. Grabbing our bags, we headed inside, and found which gate we had to be at. Since we had plenty of time, we wandered around for a while, walking around the gift shops, Duty Free shops, and we stopped by the bar to grab a small, quick meal. At the Duty Free shop, Rich and I bought a bottle of good, English wine for Dave and Bridgette. A thank you for housing us for three days. 

About fifteen minutes before take off, we made our way to the plane. I surveyed the people waiting to get on and saw that there weren't too many young children, just a few so far. If there were too many kids, my mind definitely wouldn't have been on my work.

Once we were on the plane, Rich and I had to go our separate ways.

"I'll see you in a little bit," I said, grinning, and stopping to face my husband.

"Indeed you will," he replied, also grinning.

Then, after a kiss, I headed to the crew quarters, while Rich headed to the flight deck.

As I walked down the aisle to the quarters, I saw my fellow flight attendant, Latricia (an African American woman and my friend), walking towards me with a smirk. We both 'attend' the first and business class passengers (occasionally, I would wander back to coach to help them, if needed).

"Hey, Jo," she said.

"Hi, 'Tricia. It's been a while, hasn't it?" I asked, using her nickname.

She shrugged. "Eh, not that long."

"Well, a little more than two months could be considered a long time," I replied, as we paused in front of each other to hug.

"How's Rich?" she asked as she walked slowly with me back to the quarters.

"He's fine. Piloting this flight, actually," I answered.

"I heard. Then I heard you were coming, and I was excited," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Aww, thank you." I patted her hand.

"And how's that son of yours?" she questioned.

"James? He's okay. Had a little breakdown this morning as we were leaving, and nightmares...and he fell out of his bed while taking a nap the other day," I paused and stopped walking as I just thought about what I said. "I guess he isn't all that okay, come to think of it, but he'll be fine." We walked again. "How's Jerry?" I asked her, nudging her with my elbow, desperate for a change of subject.

Last time we were on a flight, she wouldn't shut up about her long-time boyfriend, Jerry, whom she was completely head over heels for.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, showing me her left hand.

There was a decent-sized diamond ring on her ring finger. I gasped at how beautiful it looked; not as good as mine (...just kidding): a diamond in the middle of a very beautiful Celtic design, which I still wear along with my wedding ring...and they're the only rings I wear. (**A/N**:_ sorry if that sounds weird._)

I'm not Irish in any way; I just love their designs.

"Oh, wow! Congratulations!" she received another hug from me.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to let you know when we figure out the details."

"Be sure you do," I joked, then turned serious. "Oh, are you going to be with us all the way to New York and back?"

"Sure am," she responded.

By then, we reached the crew quarters, so I set my bag in a closet, along with my coat, then we headed back out to the cabin, where we made sure everything was in place and where it should be. We greeted any other flight attendant we knew as we walked towards first class, and introduced ourselves to any newbies to our crew. There were only two new crewmembers that were just on this flight to go to Germany; they wouldn't be with us the whole circle. Everyone we already knew was going to be with us for the entire trip, picking up two other newbies in Germany.

Not too long after we made sure everything was to our liking, the passengers were allowed to board. There were the normal snobby sort of people in first class, but there were also always the few polite people, who experience the class for the first time...they're the most entertaining.

As I walked from first to business, there were a bunch of people with palm-pilots, cell phones, and laptops. I greeted everyone that walked by me, and most of them replied back, but there were just a few that were too absorbed in themselves to answer the person who could 'accidentally' spill their drink on them.

Yes, I've done that a few times.

There was one man I had my eye on. He was on a cell phone as he walked by, not even acknowledging me, and as soon as he sat down, he pulled out his laptop. I just hoped there was some turbulence so I could have something to blame if I decided to dump his drink on him. I'm not angry or anything because he didn't acknowledge me, but some people just need a wake up call every once in a while.

Once the passengers were boarded and had taken their seats, Rich and Lars started the plane, and headed out to the lineup on the tarmac. While waiting to take off, Latricia and I walked the aisles of our classes to check seatbelts and made sure electronics were put away. We then took our own seats while the program for the emergency evacuation ran on the screens...thank goodness us flight attendants don't have to humiliate ourselves anymore with that explanation.

Also, while we were waiting, Rich came over the PA system to introduce himself, and Lars, and to describe the weather and such. As he did so, I couldn't help but grin; every time he did it, I remembered the first time we flew together as husband and wife...alone. We were flying a short distance to take a private plane to southern England. Rich gave me a little speech about the weather, wind pattern, and everything he was doing now, but he was so over dramatic about it, waving his hands around, he made me laugh so hard I cried.

I glanced over at Latricia and saw that she was smirking at me. I rolled my eyes, blushing slightly. (I once told her about that trip.)

Once we got the all clear to take off and were in the air, Rich (or Lars) turned off the 'fasten seatbelt' sign. As soon as they did, there was the familiar clinking as people unbuckled their belts.

Latricia and I got out of our seats (after I popped my ears) and headed to the galley in between our classes to make coffee and get the drink carts prepared. After our carts and coffee were ready, Latricia took one side of the aircraft with Katerina, a bushy-haired blonde, who rather be off doing 'stuff' with her boyfriend than here doing her damn job, while I served with Elias, the funny, gay guy.

While Elias and I filled the coffeepots for the carts, I told him of the guy I planned on spilling a beverage on. He laughed and said that if there weren't any turbulence, he would run the cart into me, helping me get the guy anyway.

When we were ready, Elias pulled the cart while I pushed it to business class. A little more than half way through the class, we reached the guy with the laptop and cell phone. At least now he was on the flight phone since it's illegal to be on a cell phone in flight.

I nodded to Elias, who nodded back after handing another passenger their drink.

"Anything to drink, sir?" I asked with false kindness.

"Diet Coke," he grumbled, not looking up from his laptop, barely pausing in his conversation.

Figures he'd want 'DIET' Coke...

I poured the drink and went to hand it to him. Almost as soon as he had the drink in his hand, Elias ran the cart into me AND there was turbulence. It couldn't have been more perfect. The soda dumped onto his chest and lap, also getting on the laptop slightly.

"Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry, sir," I said, faking my concern. "Elias, how could you?" I turned to him, still faking.

"I-I'm sorry, Joanna. I must have not put the break down completely," he said, acting along with me.

"Sir, if you could just go with Elias, here, he'll help you get that soda off," I said, turning back to the man.

Elias moved the cart towards me and out of the way, so the guy could get into the aisle, and take him to the next galley. As they walked away, I looked over to the other side of the plane to Latricia, and smirked at her. She let out a short laugh and I turned my attention back to the other passengers, continuing to serve them.

When I finished with the business class, I pulled the cart back to the galley and refilled it with more beverages. Just as I finished, Elias came back to help again.

"How angry is the guy?" I asked him.

"Kinda angry...I think most of it was directed at me, though," he said, and I gave him a quizzical look. "Well, he has a nice body, but not gay...I accidentally brushed his crotch."

I laughed right out loud.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Elias," I said in between laughs, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe next time."

He nodded and when my laughing subsided, we went to serve first class. They were much nicer up here...on my side anyway. I saw Latricia had a small problem, but nothing she couldn't handle.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Pretty pointless chapter, but I couldn't find a good spot to stop. That was probably the best spot or else it was going to be very long._


	7. German and More Old Friends

**A/N:**_ What? No reviews for the last chapter? pouts That makes me sad. Does that mean that you hate this? Should I stop? Is it really that bad? (I didn't think it was, but then again, I wrote it.)_

_On a side note: This just occurred to me the other day; Rich is really his last name, isn't it? Although, you can't really tell from the movie. I meant to watch it a while back to see if they actually say 'Rich', but I never got the chance to...I think they just refer to him as Captain. And we don't hear the names of half of the flight crew, either (I found 'Stephanie's' name by putting on the captions). So I'm taking a little...oh, what do you call it?...Writer's freedom(?) and using Rich as his first name. Don't like it? Too bad...__

* * *

_After the passengers were served, Elias and I wheeled the cart back to the galley. While he took care of the cart, I grabbed two cups, filling one with coffee and a teaspoon of sugar and the other with tea and a little milk...just the way Lars likes his coffee and Rich likes his tea.

Picking up the two cups, I walked up the aisle to the flight deck, pausing only once to let a woman get past me to go to the lavatory. When I reached the door to the deck, I leaned my back against it and used the heel of my shoe to knock a certain knock, letting them know that it was me. After knocking, I pushed myself away from the door and turned slightly to keep an eye on the passengers and the door at the same time.

Several seconds later, the door opened to reveal Rich, who smiled at me, letting me in, and closing the door behind me.

"Hello, Captain," I said softly.

"Hello, Love," he replied just as softly, then leaned down and kissed me briefly.

"Tea?" I asked a little louder, offering him the cup.

"Thank you," he said, taking the cup out of my hand.

Lars turned in his seat to look back at me and I took a few steps towards him, Rich right behind me, taking a drink of his tea.

"Guten Tag, Lars," I said in German. "Wie geht's?"

"Guten Tag, Jo," he answered. "Ich bin gut. Und du?"

"Eh, so-so," I responded. "Kaffee?" I held the cup out to him, which he took.

"Danke," he said with a nod.

"Bitte schon," I grinned.

The German Lars and I used to communicate with each other was very elementary, but that's because I only had a few years in high school, back in the day, so my knowledge of forming sentences wasn't the greatest.

"What have you been up to since we last flew together?" I asked him in English.

"Nothing new for me, but my wife had found a new job," he replied, his German accent thick.

"Really? That's great. What does she do now?"

"She's an assistant to a baker in our town."

"Ah, so she's going to attempt to fatten you up now with all those sweet goods," I laughed.

He chuckled. "I certainly hope not."

I grinned, then turned back to my husband.

"Well, I should get back out there. Already pissed off one guy," I said, looking up at him.

He had just taken another drink of his tea and almost spit it back out when I said that.

"What did you do this time, Jo?" he asked, swallowing the tea, and setting the cup down next to his seat.

"There was a little turbulence, and Elias nudged the cart into me, when I went to give some snob in business his drink," I smirked evilly.

"Just hope he doesn't complain," he smirked back, resting his forehead against mine for a moment.

"If he does complain, it wouldn't be because of me," I said, then lowered my voice. "Elias sort of tried to hit on him."

Rich pulled his head back and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry. The guy's so absorbed in himself, he'll probably forget about it when we land," I reassured him, bringing my hand up to his cheek.

"I hope you're right. For your own sake," he responded, kissing my palm.

I grinned, then lowered my hand.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Lars," I said, turning back to him slightly.

"Tschuss, Jo," he replied, then turned back around to fly.

Rich walked to the door with me, then paused before opening it, facing me.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine. My mind is on my work," I answered, just as quietly.

He searched my eyes; he probably figured that in the back of my mind I was thinking of James (because I was), but it wasn't enough to interfere with my duties.

"Okay. Take it easy, though," he finally said, pulling me into a hug, which I returned.

"I will. I always do," I replied, in his ear.

When we pulled apart, Rich leaned down and kissed me again...longer this time. After our kiss, Rich opened the door for me and I went back to the passengers.

Since this flight was only going to Germany, it was a relatively short flight...well, shorter than most of the flights we've been on to other parts of the world.

There were no major problems for the rest of the flight, which I was thankful for. Latricia had a small problem, but I stepped in and it was solved quickly.

Rich and Lars turned on the 'fasten seatbelts' signs as they started descending. Latricia and I walked the aisles, again, making sure electronics were off and belts were fastened.

On the ground in Berlin, the passengers deboarded, and Latricia and I headed to the crew quarters to get our bags. When we got them, we joined the rest of the crew as they deboarded also. Latricia and I were always the last two flight attendants off the plane, since we'd both been in the airline business the longest and we had seniority; after us was Rich and Lars.

Once we made it through all the security stuff and out into the main lobby of the airport, Latricia went off to hail a cab and head to her hotel (she had her three days planned full of sightseeing) and Lars' wife was waiting for him at the entrance. Rich and I waved to them as they walked out of the airport together. I then looked around for Dave and Bridgette, but heard Bridgette before I saw her.

"Rich! Jo!" I heard Bridgette from our left.

I looked over at Rich, since he was on my right, who rolled his eyes with a small grin, then looked back to Bridgette. She and Dave waved at us, so I waved back, and we started walking towards them.

Bridgette was about my height (maybe an inch or two shorter), but had a smaller frame than I. She had dark blue eyes with sliver trimmed glasses and light brown, shoulder length hair. Dave was almost her complete opposite: he was tall, about a whole head taller than me, with light blue eyes, and short, blonde hair; he was built like a football player (American football)...since he played for our college and in high school, I believe.

When we were close enough to them, Bridgette came up to me and gathered me into a rib-breaking hug. I saw Rich and Dave shake hands in a brotherly fashion.

"Hi, Bridgette," I squeaked out as she hugged me.

"Hey, Jo. How've you been?" she asked, releasing me.

"I'm good, I'm good. And you?"

"Same," she smiled.

Bridgette had one of those smiles that was so kind, it just made you want to smile...which is what I ended up doing.

Dave came over to me then, and gave me a hug. His hug was very gentle compared to Bridgette's, but then again, he could probably kill me if he hugged me the way she did.

"How was your flight?" he asked, pulling away.

"It was all right. Just the normal occasional troublemaker," I replied.

"Did you dump a drink on someone again?"

"Me? No, of course not," I said, grinning, every word dripping with sarcasm.

"You're terrible," he said, grinning.

"I know."

After our little reunion, Dave and Bridgette lead us out to their car, which happened to be just a few yards away from the entrance to the airport. Dave opened the trunk and Rich put his and my bag in. Bridgette and Dave got into the front of the car, while Rich and I got in the back. After Rich and I were buckled, he took my hand, rubbing the back; I smiled at him, then leaned against him as I looked out the window.

"So how far away from the airport do you guys live?" I asked up to our friends.

"About twenty minutes. We have a house just outside Berlin," Bridgette answered, turning her head to look back at us.

I nodded, then went back to looking out the window. After several minutes, though, I couldn't stare out of the window anymore...it gave me a fairly large headache. Closing my eyes, I brought a hand to my forehead.

"Jo, you okay?" Rich asked softly.

"Yeah, just got a headache," I replied, lowering my hand.

I felt Rich kiss the top of my head.

Not too long after my headache started, Dave pulled the car up to a small, yet cozy-looking, two-story home. The four of us got out of the car, then Dave opened the trunk so Rich and I could get our things, while Bridgette went towards the house. Once we got our bags, Rich and I followed Dave into the house. As I stepped inside, I was surprised; the house looked small from the outside, but was very open inside.

Bridgette walked into the hall from the far end.

"Sorry I darted off there. I wanted to make sure dinner didn't burn," she said, pointing over her shoulder to where I assume the kitchen was.

"Oh, that reminds me. We brought you some wine from England. As a 'thank you' for housing us for the next few days," I said, pulling the bottle out of my bag, and handing it to Bridgette.

"Thank you, guys," she said, reading the label. "It'll go great with dinner." She then looked over to Dave. "Could you show them where they'll be staying, while I finish dinner, hun?"

"Sure," Dave replied, grinning at his wife, then turned to us. "Come on. We have a spare room we're going to put you in."

"You make it sound as if we're animals," I said, smirking, as he led us upstairs.

"Well, you two could be...but that's really none of my business," he said, grinning again, stopping in front of the second door on the right.

I heard Rich chuckle from behind me, while I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

"I have no comment to that," I mumbled.

"Just come on down to the kitchen when your ready and we'll show you the rest of the house," he said, opening the door to our room for us. "Oh, the kitchen is at the end of the small hall at the end of the stairs."

"Okay, thanks, Dave," Rich said.

Dave nodded, then left us to go back downstairs.

Rich and I walked into the room (closing the door behind us), tossing our bags near the end of the bed. I sat down on the bed, then fell back onto my back, closing my eyes, and bringing my hands up to my forehead again...I hadn't even bothered to take off my coat and shoes yet.

I felt the mattress shift and knew that Rich had sat next to me. Opening my eyes, I saw that Rich was indeed next to me, but he was lying at my side. I took my hands away from my forehead and turned my head to look at him.

"Still have a headache?" he asked softly, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Yeah. It feels like my head is in a vice," I answered.

"Did you take any medicine?" he asked, putting his cool fingers on my forehead.

"No. Haven't really had the time to root around in my bag for some Advil."

Rich took his hand off my head as he sat up from the bed and I groaned since his hand was actually helping dull the pain. He leaned over me to reach down and grab my bag, pulling it up onto the bed.

"Find the Advil and take it," he said.

"What if I don't?"

"Then you're going to suffer," he whispered, lowering his head so that it hovered mere centimeters above mine.

"You're cruel," I whispered back.

"You're damn right, Love."

"Ooh, and feisty," I grinned.

"Just take the medicine. Please," he said, lifting his head with a worried look.

"All right...but you have to get off me."

Rich grinned, then lifted his body off of me.

I sat up, taking off my coat, and toeing off my shoes. Digging through my bag, I found the little container of medicine I carry with me, and took out an Advil...taking a bottle of water out of my bag as well. I took the pill, then looked over at Rich, who was changing out of his pilot uniform and into normal clothes.

"Happy?" I asked.

"Yes, thank you," he replied, then stood in front of me, and while buttoning his shirt, leaned down to kiss me.

I pulled a sweater and a pair of cotton cargo pants out of my bag, then changed into them. While Rich was digging through his bag for...something, I walked to the other side of the room and looked out the window. They had a decent sized backyard (bigger than ours, anyway) and a great view across a small park.

"Rich," I called to him softly, getting his attention as I looked away from the window.

He looked up from his bag and came over, standing behind me.

"It's snowing," I said, softly, looking back out the window.

Rich wrapped his right arm around my waist, while his left arm looped around my shoulders, pulling me into him. He rested his chin on my right shoulder...and was probably thinking the same thing I was: James.

I stood there, holding onto Rich's arms, and watched the snow fall before I turned in his arms, wrapping mine around him.

My headache wasn't helping me out at all...I felt depressed, like my head was going to explode, and my stomach was now hurting...felt like shit, basically.

After a few minutes, I pulled back from Rich. He looked down at me with concern.

"Something else is wrong now, isn't it?" he asked.

"My stomach hurts a little, but that might just be because I'm hungry," I replied...which could have been the reason. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and now it was dinnertime.

"Then let's go join Dave and Bridgette for dinner," he said.

I nodded, then we let go of each other and headed downstairs, following the hall to the kitchen, where Dave and Bridgette were sitting at a small, round table.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well, there you go, another chapter down. More will be on the way._

_Oh, and my German isn't too good, so if in future chapters I screw something up, just kindly leave the correction in a review or send me a message. Thanks!_

_...And reviews would be appreciated. They feed the happiness bug in my brain..._


	8. No Lampshade? and 99 Luftballoons

**A/N:**_ Well, my 21st birthday (Aug. 12) is in half an hour, so I decided to give myself an early b-day present...by posting a chapter! Woo! See how awsome I am? I share my b-day gift with the world! Go me! (I'm actually posting now because I'm not going to be around for the next few days...one including me and my friends getting "wasted shit face-ted" as we like to call it [yeah, I just typed that phonetically, so y'all should be happy.)_

* * *

"Everything okay?" Bridgette asked. 

"Yeah, we're good," I answered, forcing a smile.

"All right. Have a seat. Dinner's just about ready," she said.

Rich and I sat in the two open chairs as Dave poured us two glasses of the wine we brought. A timer went off and Bridgette got up, going over to the oven.

"Bridge, you want any help?" I offered.

"No, I'm fine, just stay there," she said.

I kept an eye on her as she took some sort of roast out of the oven, and also took something off the stove.

"Did you know that it's snowing?" Rich asked, making conversation.

"Is it? I wonder how long it'll stick around this time," Bridgette said.

"It's snowed here a few times this year, but none of it has really stuck to the ground. And we're looking forward to going skiing soon," Dave explained, then took a sip of wine.

"We had snow back home earlier in the week. About six inches or so, and we had a snowball fight, James and I against Rich, who won by cheating," I said, grinning at my husband.

"I didn't cheat. I can't help you're gullible," he defended.

"When you fake being hurt after I hit you in the face that counts as cheating. Doesn't it?" I asked, looking over at Dave.

"Yeah, I would say it does," he answered.

"Fine, fine. I'll win fairly next time, okay?" Rich said, putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

Bridgette then brought over plates of food, two at a time. I found that I was right: we were having something roasted, a chicken. I guess it helps to have a father who was a chef...both parents were chefs, actually (how I became a pilot and my brother an artist, I'll never know).

We made small talk all through dinner and dessert (which was a delicious Black Forest cake that Bridgette had made earlier), just to catch up on things with each other. We talked about James at one point...well, Rich did since that would just add to my list of things to make me sick.

After we ate, I helped Bridgette with the dishes, then the four of us moved from the kitchen to a small living room, where we polished off the rest of the wine...more like Dave polished off the bottle. Because of my headache, I only had a glass and a half, but Dave seemed to really like it and I told him so.

"Jeez, Dave. If you like the wine so much, we'll have to send you some more," I said, smirking at him.

"Would you? It's really good," he slurred slightly.

I never would have thought he was a lightweight drunk...

"And have you drunk almost every day after drinking a bottle? I don't think so," Bridgette said, leaning against her husband. "But I will agree. It is very good."

"I guess it was a good choice, Rich," I grinned, looking up at him, from where I sat on the floor in front of him. He was massaging my back and shoulders, and it certainly felt good, but I still had that damn headache.

Rich nodded while grinning.

"Maybe we'll send them a bottle or two anyway," he said loud enough for Bridgette to hear.

She did hear, but just rolled her eyes with a smirk.

I glanced at the wooden clock on the wall; it only read ten o'clock, but my head was killing me. I thought that maybe after some sleep, I would feel better.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to head off to bed. I have a large headache that's making me feel like my head is going to explode," I said, getting off the floor.

"No problem. We plan on showing you two around Berlin tomorrow," Bridgette said, picking her head up off Dave's shoulder.

"Sounds good," I said, smiling. "Guten Nacht." I said, looking at Dave and Bridgette, then turned back to Rich, leaning down and kissing him. "Night, Captain," I whispered.

"Night," he replied.

I then walked out of the room, down the hall, and up the stairs to the room we were staying in. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I pulled my pajamas out of my bag. Sighing, I brought a hand up to my head, then stood and changed. A moment after pulling the camisole over my head, the door opened and Rich walked in.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting back on the edge of the bed.

"I just came to check on you," he said, sitting next to me. "How's your stomach?"

"A little better. I think if I sleep, I'll be okay," I answered.

He put his arm around my shoulders and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"God, my head," I moaned, pulling my legs up onto the bed, and putting a hand on my forehead again.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. You don't have to fuss over me."

"Yes I do. You're my wife; I'm allowed to."

I grinned, even though he couldn't see it.

"Go back downstairs with Dave and Bridgette. Chat for a while," I said, putting my chin on his shoulder, looking at him.

"What about you?" he asked, turning his head to me.

"I'll be fine. I'll probably be asleep soon, anyway," I shrugged.

He refused to get up and go.

"Please, Rich. Go back down for at least an hour," I said, kissing him. "I need peace anyway," I whispered with a grin.

Rich opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

"Just go."

I took my head off his shoulder and took his arm away from me, then crawled under the covers. Rich got off the bed, but leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss.

"I'll be back in an hour," he said, softly.

I nodded, then closed my eyes briefly, before opening them to make sure Rich left the room. As he opened the door, he turned off the light with another look back to me.

"Go, Rich," I told him.

I heard him sigh as he closed the door, then I snuggled back into the covers. The sheets were amazingly soft, so I made a mental note to ask Bridgette about them the next day; the quilt was very warm also, and had to suspect that it was filled with down feathers...since it was poking me every once in a while.

When I was settled, I pulled the quilt up over my head and took a deep breath, closing my eyes. As I attempted to sleep, I ended up thinking about James, and hoping that he was sleeping all right with no nightmares.

About forty-five minutes later, I heard footsteps out in the hall, and I took the quilt away from my eyes. The door to the room opened and Rich came in, closing the door quickly behind him; he then turned on the light.

"I knew you wouldn't last an hour," I muttered loud enough for him to hear, then pulled the quilt back over my head.

"Dave and Bridgette are going to bed, too. Don't be so quick to celebrate," he said as I heard him going through his bag.

I pulled the quilt away from my head and looked towards him.

"That doesn't sound like them."

"Well, Dave's a little more drunk than we thought," he responded, looking at me.

As if on cue, I heard stomping down the hall as Dave hummed '99 Luftballoons' with Bridgette trying to keep him quiet.

I started laughing as they passed by the room.

"Did he do anything embarrassing? Like put a lampshade on his head or something like that?" I asked, through my laughter.

"No lampshade, but he was singing some German songs," Rich answered with a laugh, as he pulled out his pajama pants.

"I would have loved to see that," I smirked, watching Rich as he changed.

Once Rich was changed, he went back over to turn off the light, then slowly made his way back to the bed.

"Careful you don't stub another toe," I warned, sniggering.

"Very funny," he grumbled.

When he hit my side of the bed, he hopped up, and just crawled over me to get on the other side.

"That's cheating," I complained, as he got under the blankets.

"You should know by now that I like to cheat," he replied, moving closer to me.

"I should, shouldn't I?" I said, turning on my side to face him.

He hummed a response as he slid an arm under my neck, then put the other over my waist, and pulled me into him. To top it off, he slung a leg over both of mine, then kissed me. My arms got stuck in between our bodies, but I managed to break one free, and rest it on Rich's hip (since that was the only part of him I could reach).

I fell into a deep sleep not long after, willing my headache to go away.

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Waking up the next morning, I felt my headache had dissipated, along with my stomachache. I also felt Rich's arms were still around me. Grinning to myself, I snuggled closer to him without trying to wake him...didn't work though.

"Don't want...get up," he grumbled with the only words I could decipher, not even opening his eyes.

"Me either. Not yet anyway," I agreed. "Dave and Bridge can wait."

"Good," he said, then tightened his arms around me.

I was able to move my hand from Rich's hip to his back; I rubbed his back as he fell back asleep.

About an hour and a half later, Rich woke up again. Disentangling ourselves from each other, we got out of bed, and got dressed.

"How's your head today?" Rich asked me as he pulled a T-shirt over his head.

"Better. Doesn't hurt anymore, so I guess sleep helped," I answered with a grin, pulling on a pair of socks.

"That's good to hear," he said, then crossed the room, and kissed me.

"Come on. Get some pants on so we don't have to make them wait much longer," I said, only then noticing that Rich had yet to change out of his pajama pants.

Once he was finally completely dressed, we left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen, where we found Dave and Bridgette drinking coffee and just starting breakfast.

"Well, guten Morgen. It's about time you two got up," Bridgette said, a little louder than was really necessary, but then I looked over at Dave and saw him flinch. He was definitely hung-over.

"Guten Morgen. We didn't want to get up this morning," I said, softly, feeling pity for Dave.

"Would you like some coffee or breakfast?" Bridgette asked us as we sat down at the table, then added: "Or tea?"

Rich smiled with a chuckle. "Tea would be great, thanks. And breakfast."

"Coffee and breakfast for me, thanks," I said. "Do you want any help?"

"Since I denied you last night, I guess you can help now," she said, getting up from her chair. "Besides, I have no idea how Rich, the Englishman, likes his tea." She looked at Rich with a teasing smirk.

I laughed as I got up to help her.

"How's your headache?" Dave asked me.

"Gone. How's yours?" I countered, smirking.

He grumbled something incoherent, then put his head in his hands. I saw Rich lean towards him and give him something with a whisper. Dave looked grateful, so I had to guess that Rich slipped him an Advil or two.

After we all finished breakfast (and Dave's hangover was disappearing), Dave and Bridgette showed us around Berlin for the day. They took us to Alexanderplatz, the Tiergarten, Checkpoint Charlie, and a few museums in the area.

Rich and I still had to get something for James, so while we were in Alexanderplatz, we went into one of the department stores. In the toy section, we found a new game he might like and another boat for his bathtub fleet.

At the end of the day, the four of us returned to Dave and Bridgette's house, where we had another excellent dinner made by Bridgette.

The next two days were relatively quiet. We left the house occasionally, but not much.

On the night of our last day in Germany, Dave and Bridgette drove us back to the airport so we could make our flight to New York. On our way to the airport, it started to snow, again, and it was coming down harder than was good for flight. Once in the airport, we said our good-byes to Dave and Bridgette.

"You should come visit us at some point and meet James. I'm sure he'd like to meet you guys," I said as Bridgette and I hugged.

"We will...some day," she answered.

When we pulled back, we smiled at each other, then went to the other's husband. I gave Dave a hug (as best I could since he was so tall).

"We'll send you some more wine if you promise not to drink a whole bottle in one day. I heard what you did last night," I grinned, as we pulled away.

I saw a blush rise to his cheeks as he answered.

"I promise I won't get drunk every night off a bottle of that delicious, English wine," he said, then looked over to Bridgette to make sure she heard him.

"I'll keep you to that, hun," she said.

Rich and I laughed slightly at the look on Dave's face.

"It was good to see you two again. I hope you had a good time here," Bridgette continued as she stood next to Dave.

The two made such an unusual pair if you were just to look at them. Because of Dave's height, he made Bridgette seem like a child. But the two had such great personalities and were alike in almost every other way, they made the perfect couple.

"We had a wonderful time. When you come to us, we'll make sure your stay is better," Rich said.

I had to hold back a laugh...he said it so professionally, it was kind of funny.

"All right, as much as I don't exactly want to, we have to go. It's a big plane to make sure everything is how it should be," I said.

"Okay, keep in touch. And when you can, send us an e-mail to let us know you got home safe," Dave said.

"We will," Rich answered as we started walking away.

Turning around slightly, I waved at them. As they waved back, I saw Bridgette put her head on Dave's chest, since she couldn't reach his shoulder. When I turned back, I took Rich's free hand in my own free hand as we walked to the plane.

* * *

**A/N: **_There ya go! How 'bout letting know what you think? Please?_

_Now, I'm off to snoop for presents..._


	9. New Attendants

When we got to the E-474, I stopped and stared at it. I knew the plane was big, but this thing was huge!

Rich noticed that I stopped when his hand almost slipped from mine. He looked at me, then looked to where I was looking.

"Jo, it's just a plane," he sniggered.

"This is like a plane and a half, almost two," I said, looking up at him.

"It's not 'like a plane and a half', it is a plane and a half. I thought you knew this," he said.

"I did, but I've never seen it for myself," I defended.

Rich smirked down at me, then tugged my hand to get me moving again. With one last look to the outside of the plane, I walked with him.

When we stepped onto the plane, we kissed (as normal), then with words of 'see you later', we went in opposite directions.

I'd never been on this particular plane before, so I really had no clue where the crew quarters were. Good thing for me, Latricia came onto the plane next, and saw my lost look.

"I'm guessing this is your first time on here, huh?" she asked, walking up to me.

"Was it that obvious?" I asked as she walked with me.

"Just a little," she replied with a grin. "Come on, I'll give you the fifty-cent tour."

"Can't I have the free tour?" I asked with a laugh.

"For you, I think I can," she laughed back.

Latricia walked passed me, leading the way to the quarters. Once there, we put our bags and coats in a closet, then she gave me a quick tour of the plane. She then gave a more detailed tour of first and business classes...the ones that really mattered to me.

Once her little tour was over, we headed back to the quarters so I could change my shoes. Boots, like the ones I was wearing, were not part of the uniform. As I was digging out my shoes, a young woman I hadn't met before walked into the quarters, also. I looked up at Latricia wondering if she knew this woman.

"Hello, I'm Latricia. Are you one of the new attendants joining us?" Latricia asked her.

"Uh, yes. My name's Fiona," the woman replied.

Fiona had her hair up in a bun, possibly making her look younger than she really was. She wore a string of pearls, which I found a little odd to wear with our very plain uniforms. She was also one of few female attendants I know to wear a skirt.

"Hi, Fiona. I'm Joanna, Jo for short," I said, sticking out my hand.

She hesitantly shook my hand; I could tell she was nervous about this.

"I'll meet you up in business," Latricia said to me, then walked out of the quarters with another smile to Fiona.

Fiona moved through the quarters to another closet, while I pulled on my other shoe.

"Oh, Fiona. I should probably tell you," I started, closing the closet door, "my husband is the captain. I'm telling you because one, every other flight attendant knows, and two, if you see us together, that's why. We just don't want passengers to know. Okay? I just didn't want to startle you or anything," I finished with a laugh.

"Thanks for the heads up, then," she smiled a little.

"Sure. Is this you're first flight?" I asked, being polite.

"No, second, actually. My first was the trip over here, but not on a plane like this," she admitted, motioning around her.

"Mine too...well, being on this sort of plane, anyway. I've been flying since college and that was a long time ago," I grinned. Fiona smirked, then I continued. "Are you nervous?"

She sighed. "A little."

"You'll do fine. If you need help with anything, just come find me. I'll be up in first and business classes," I smiled.

"All right. Thanks, Jo," she also smiled.

"No problem. Have a good takeoff if I don't see you again until then."

"You too."

I smiled again as I walked out of the quarters and up to business class, where Latricia was waiting for me.

"Everything all right?" she asked as I went down one aisle to check things, while she went down the other.

"I hate these shoes," I grumbled, then added: "Just helping the new kid out."

We got the rest of business and first class ready for its passengers, then waited in the galley until boarding. When people started boarding, Latricia and I both moved out of the galley and into our places in first class, checking tickets. People on this sort of flight are a whole lot more polite than on our normal 747 flights...meaning, everyone I said hello to, replied back; also meaning I wouldn't be able to dump something on someone this time. On purpose, anyway.

Once everyone was seated, one of the other flight attendants came over the PA system apologizing the passengers because of the delay. The snow had slowed, but the workers had to clear the runway. As the passengers were boarding, I heard the workers hosing down the side of the plane to get to ice off.

Not too long after the announcement was made, the engines roared to life, and we moved out into the line up...er, lack there of line up, actually. It was as if we were the only flight crazy enough to fly in this weather. Rich came over the PA explaining the delay and did his usual speech.

The passengers were quiet, which was a little eerie, but it was nothing to be anxious about. There was a baby crying at one point during takeoff, making me instantly think of James. I looked over at Latricia, sighing. She gave me a small, reassuring grin in return.

Once we were in the air, and at the right altitude, Rich or Lars turned off the 'fasten seatbelts' sign, and the clicking of belts was heard throughout the cabin. Latricia and I got up from our seats and headed to the galley to start getting beverages together. On my way there, a man in first class asked me for another blanket because his feet were cold...they stuck out of the end of the blanket. With a quiet laugh, I went to find another blanket, then brought it back to him. I then met Latricia in the galley.

"Did you get lost getting back here?" she joked.

"Funny...no, some guy wanted another blanket since his feet stuck out the bottom," I answered.

She laughed as we got drinks together. After I grabbed a coffee thermos, I turned around and almost ran into Bill, another attendant and the plane's bartender.

"Oh, Jo, sorry about that," he apologized, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay, you just startled me," I said with a grin.

"See any yuppies that might need a drink?" he asked both me and Latricia.

"Not yet, but after we get through, there might," Latricia replied.

"Good, I don't want to be out of a job," he smirked, then walked back out of the galley.

Latricia and I continued to get drinks ready and on the cart.

"Hey, have you seen the other newbie yet?" I asked her.

"Come to think of it, no, I haven't," she said. "Maybe she got stuck back in coach."

"Hmm, maybe I'll take a walk back there later."

Latricia nodded, then Katerina and Elias walked into the galley. The four of us took the carts out and served business, then first class. On this flight, Latricia and I mostly served first class passengers, while Elias and Katerina served business and beyond.

"Anyone you plan on dumping anything on this time?" Elias asked me quietly over the cart.

"Nope, not this time," I grinned.

"Damn..." he said, snapping his fingers.

"Maybe next flight," I reassured him.

"Hopefully," I heard him mutter.

We then rolled the cart out to business class and served them, then headed to first class. Once we finished with the drinks, we took the cart back to the galley, and cleaned it up.

Once the cart was cleaned up and Elias went off to do some other duties, Fiona approached me in the galley.

"Jo, can I ask you something?" she asked as she stood next to me.

"Sure, that's why I'm here," I said, leaning against the counter behind me, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You might consider it a little personal," she said quietly, looking at her hands.

"Fiona, just ask. If I feel it's too personal, I won't answer it, okay?" I said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at me and nodded, while I grinned at her.

"How did you become a flight attendant? You seem too...nice to have a job like this," she said.

I laughed shortly. "Well, I was very young when I decided I wanted to fly. I went to college for piloting, along with my husband, which is where we met, by the way. I then received my private pilot's license, and I've been flying ever since, but had to take a break when I was pregnant, then Rich didn't want me to fly anymore. I couldn't just give up flying, though, so he suggested flight attending. And here I am," I explained.

"Wow, I would have never guessed," she said, obviously flabbergasted.

"Really?" she nodded. "I guess I was just born not to keep my feet on solid ground," I laughed. "Can I ask you something?...if you don't mind."

"Of course."

"Why'd you get into flight attending?"

"My family. Well, the women in my family, anyway. We've been attending since people have been flying," she answered with pride.

"Ah...and I thought I was born for it. It was literally in your blood," I said.

"You could say that," she smiled.

We both paused in conversation as a few passengers walked by, then Bill, heading to the bar in the lounge.

"Hey, Jo," he said, almost after he passed the galley. "Notice any takers?"

"A few were looking longingly in that direction, so I would say so," I answered with a smile.

"Great, thanks," he said, then walked on.

I turned back to Fiona. "Oh, do you happen to know the other new attendant?" I asked her, thinking maybe she would know.

"Uh, yes. I'll introduce you if you like," she offered.

"That'd be great. Show me the way," I replied, motioning for her to go forward.

Fiona walked us back to coach and she kept an eye out for the other newbie. When we got to the back of the plane, I noticed a woman stretched out, asleep, in the middle row. A blanket was in the row across the aisle from her. Once we passed the woman, we were in the last galley and could go no further.

Fiona sighed, just about to give up looking for the other newbie, when there was a noise from behind me and down, making me jump.

Latricia forgot to let me know there were stairs there.

Coming up the stairs was another woman I'd never seen before, so I assumed she was the other newbie to our crew. She had her short, light brown hair up in a low ponytail, and dark eyes.

"Oh, Stephanie, I was looking for you," Fiona said, stopping the woman. "This is Jo. She wanted to meet you. Jo, this is Stephanie."

"Hello, Stephanie. Nice to finally meet you. I don't like not knowing who I'm working with," I grinned, extending my hand.

"Ah, Jo. Same here," she said. "I finally get to have a face for the name now."

"Why? What did you hear about me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing bad. Everything was good. They say you really know your stuff," she said.

"Really? Just out of curiosity, what have you heard?"

"You used to be a pilot, so you can calm passengers by explaining odd things to them...and your husband is a pilot, also."

She made me blush a little at that compliment.

"Oh, well, thank you, then," I finally said, softly. "And my husband is more than a pilot; he's a captain...captain of this flight, actually. So if you happen to see us together, that's why. Just so you know."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Stephanie said with a grin. "Excuse me, I have someone waiting for a drink. Again, it was nice to meet you, Jo."

"You too, Stephanie," I said as she walked passed Fiona and I.

"Well, I should get back to the passengers," Fiona said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I have to get some coffee to the pilots," I said, smirking.

"You just want to see your husband," she said, nudging my elbow with a grin.

I chuckled. "You caught me, but they really do need coffee."

"All right. See you later, then," she said, still grinning.

"See you."

Fiona then went down one side of the plane, while I went down the other, all the way up to first class (without being stopped by a passenger, amazingly enough). As I walked into first class, I noticed a lot of people watching movies and sleeping. I was almost to the front of the class to get the coffee for Rich and Lars, when a woman stopped me.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Okay, here's the deal...I WILL NOT UPDATE until I get at least 3 (that's right, three) reviews. I know you people are reading this (few you may be), so it won't hurt to let me know your thoughts on this. How am I supposed to know if you like it or not if you don't let me know...even if it's just to say 'good' or 'bad'. I'll take anything. Just as long as I get those reviews...until that happens, don't expect an update..._


	10. Troubles Start

**A/N:**_ Alright. Since I was in the ER on Friday night (freak accident when a fleck of paint fell in my eye and I couldn't get it out), I needed something to cheer me up a little. I thought I'd give this story another try. If you people don't let me know what you think, then there will be no more story! I've completed it and would like to share it, but if I don't hear from a few people, then...f it, basically.  
So, it's all up to you, the reader. Be cool and review for me. Thanks.

* * *

_"Could I have some water, please? It feels like something is caught in my throat," she asked me.

"Of course. I'll be right back," I smiled.

I went back to the galley, grabbed a cup, filled it with water, and took it back to the woman as quickly as I could.

I always hated it when something itched my throat, so I made it quick.

"Here you are, ma'am," I said, handing her the glass.

"Ah, thank you," she coughed.

"You're welcome," I said with a small smile, then headed back up to get that coffee I set out to get before.

I got up to the front and was finally able to pour two cups of coffee the way both men liked it. Picking up the cups, I went over to the flight deck door, and leaned my back against it. I lifted my heel to knock, then backed away from the door.

Within a few moments, Rich opened the door, and I walked in; he closed the door behind me.

"I come bearing coffee for you two," I said, holding up the cups.

"What? No tea?" Rich jokingly complained.

"It's a long flight, and I know you didn't sleep well last night, so drink it," I told him, handing him one of the cups.

"How did you know that?" Rich asked, frowning.

"What? That it's a long flight or you didn't sleep?" I smirked, being a smart-ass.

"That I didn't sleep, smart-ass," he grinned, quietly.

"Because every time you moved, you would hit me in one way or another...mostly kicking, and you only do that when you can't sleep," I replied, also quietly.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"It's all right. I've run on less sleep than what I got," I reassured him, putting a hand on his arm briefly.

I then took Lars' cup of coffee over to him before it cooled too much.

"Danke, Jo," he said, as I handed it to him.

"Bitte schon, Lars," I replied with a smile. "Wie geht seine Frau?"

"Es ist 'deine Frau' nicht 'seine'. You just asked 'how is his wife?'," he corrected me.

"Ah, of course. I knew that," I said.

Both he and Rich gave me an 'I don't believe you' look.

"Seriously. You both know it's been a while since I've taken a German class. You can't expect me to remember everything," I defended.

"Well, that's true," Rich said, taking a drink.

"Anyway, you didn't answer me, Lars. Wie geht deine Frau?" I asked.

"Sie is gut. Sie liebt ihre neue Stelle," he said.

I had to think about that for a moment, but still couldn't figure out what he said.

"She what?" I asked.

Lars chuckled. "She is good. She loves her new job."

"Oh...that's good to hear," I said, then turned back to Rich so Lars could fly. "Are you going to be okay?"

Rich set his cup down next to his chair, then pulled me back a bit, away from Lars.

"Yes, and if I get tired, I'll take a nap. You don't have to worry," he said, wrapping his arms around me, but still looking me in the eye.

"You're my husband; I'm allowed to," I said softly with a grin, tossing his words back at him from the other night.

He smirked, then tilted his head down to kiss me soundly. When he pulled back, he kissed my cheek before resting his forehead against mine.

"Did you get to meet the new attendants yet?" he asked.

"Yes, both of them. And they're both very polite," I answered.

"Good, I'd hate to have impolite attendants on board," Rich replied, then kissed me again.

I pulled back first this time.

"I better go. Let me know if you guys need anything," I said, stepping out of his arms.

"What if I need you," Rich whispered seriously.

"Then I'll come for a little bit, but don't call for me every hour or anything like that. I'll send Latricia in if you do," I warned, with a half grin.

"Understood," he replied, then pulled me back into him for another kiss. "I love you."

"Love you, too," I responded, reaching around my back to unlatch Rich's arms from me, then walked to the door.

I mouthed a 'soon' to him as I opened the door and exited the flight deck. Going back to the galley, I got a drink of water for myself before returning to the passengers.

About two and a half hours later, Fiona asked me to help her with getting a cart ready, so I did. I'm not one to let someone go without help. Once I finished helping Fiona, Latricia asked me to help her with the food distribution in first class (she said she didn't want to deal with Katerina for a while). Again, I helped. I pulled the cart, while Latricia pushed, making her closer to the galley and me closer to the flight deck.

We were half way down the one side of plane, when the same woman I saw sleeping in the back of the plane opened the curtain, attempting to get through. She stopped when she saw Latricia, though, and backed up. Latricia closed the curtain again, then looked at me questioningly. I shook my head and shrugged a shoulder, knowing no more than she did.

Once we finished on one side of the plane we moved to the other; this time Latricia was closer to the flight deck and I was closer to the galley. Just as we were serving the food towards the end of the rows, Stephanie came over the PA system.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to interrupt but we've got a first here to report. Its seems our aircraft is big enough to loose a child in. Her name is Julia Pratt. She's six-years old and wearing a navy blue jumper. If she's anywhere near you or perhaps playing with one of your kids, please press the call button now. We've got an anxious mom up here. Thank you," she announced.

Sounds like something I would do...

The announcement was then re-announced in German.

Latricia pulled me out of my thoughts when she nudged the cart into me. I shook my head and with a thanks to her, we finished serving, taking the cart back into galley. When we walked in, I saw the woman again and assumed it was her child that was 'missing'. Fiona and Stephanie were also there with her, watching the call button chart.

"Any takers?" Latricia asked as we rolled the cart in.

Both Fiona and Stephanie came over to help.

"We gotta search the plane," the woman said. "I don't know how to organize that."

"Miss Pratt, I'm sure she's perfectly okay," Latricia said.

"No. No she's not," Miss Pratt said, looking back at the call button chart. "She's been through something. She's...she's not herself right now."

Latricia looked over her shoulder at Fiona, then shifted her gaze to me before looking back at Miss Pratt.

"Can we get the seatbelt signs on?" Miss Pratt asked.

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves," Latricia said calmly.

"There's nine closets on this plane. There's four up and there's five down. And nobody's checked any of them. There's, uh, seven galleys, there's the crew quarters, there's the holds, and kids can find places like that," Miss Pratt responded.

And I thought I knew planes...well, the E-474 doesn't count since it's newer and I've never been on it before.

"I just need...I just need the aisles clear so I can look, okay?" she continued, tears in her eyes.

"Okay," Latricia sighed, then paused briefly. "I'm gonna have to ask you to return to your seat."

I stepped out from behind the cart and stopped slightly behind Latricia.

"You know what? I will speak to the captain and tell him of the situation. See if he can come talk to you, okay?" I said, thinking quick.

Miss Pratt nodded and I immediately went to the flight deck. Knocking on the door, Rich let me in after a moment. Looking into my eyes, he knew something wasn't right.

"Jo, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Miss Pratt, the woman they made the announcement about, is kinda freaking out. I told her I'd talk to you about it and see if you could help out somehow. She's practically in tears trying to find her daughter, Rich," I told him.

He looked down at the floor for a moment.

"At least think about it. She's desperate," I added.

"I'll think about," he said, looking back up at me.

"Okay. Thank you," I said with a sigh. "I'll try to keep an eye on her until you decide."

Rich probably had the feeling that I would freak out, too...if this were James.

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**A/N: **_If any of the German is wrong, please bring it to my attention and I will fix it. (After 5 years of German classes, including 2 semesters in college, I still mess up the simple stuff...)_


	11. The Search

I then stepped up to him and kissed his cheek. Turning, I headed back out the door, and went to find Miss Pratt. I walked back to coach since that's where I saw Miss Pratt the first time, and saw her sitting on an arm rest, talking with Fiona.

"...The problem is that my daughter is missing and nobody can tell me where the hell she is," Miss Pratt said through gritted teeth. I must have walked in on the middle of their conversation. She then noticed me walk up.

"Well, will he help?" she asked me.

"He'll help as soon as he's able to step away, which I hope will be soon," I smiled at her.

"Thank you," she said.

I nodded and she took a breath before looking at Fiona. "Do you have any kids?"

"Do nieces count?" she countered after a moment.

"Yeah, almost."

"They hate playing hide and seek with me because I always find them. So, fear not," Fiona said, trying to say something that would help keep Miss Pratt calm.

"What about you? Do you have any kids?" Miss Pratt asked me.

I looked at Fiona quickly before answering her. "Yes, I have a son who just turned four a few months ago."

"And what would you do if this happened to him?"

I looked down at the floor for a moment, then locked eyes with Miss Pratt.

"I'd be doing the exact same thing you are," I said, straight faced, so she knew I was telling the truth.

She nodded once, then looked to the kids in front of her, who kneeled on their seats next to Fiona.

"Did you guys see my little girl?" she asked them, standing.

Both of them shook their heads.

"You're the one they made the announcement about," the father of the kids said, turning in his seat.

"Yeah," Miss Pratt answered quietly.

"I didn't even know you had a kid with you. Did you?" he asked, turning to, who I assume, was his wife.

"Sorry, I didn't," the woman said.

Miss Pratt shook her head slowly at the mother, then looked back at the kids. "Maybe you guys could help me look for her."

"Cool," the boy said.

"Awesome. I'm so bored," the girl said, looking down at her father.

"Sorry, no," he said.

"Why not?" the boy asked.

"Dad, she's lost," the girl tried to reason.

"How lost can she be? We're-we're in a tube," the father said, looking back at Miss Pratt, then turned back to his kids. "Turn around."

The kids turned and sat back down. I looked at Miss Pratt and Fiona, and was about to say something, but I never got it out.

"Jo." I turned around and saw Latricia at the end of the aisle. "Can I have your help?"

I nodded then turned back to the other two. "Excuse me."

Turning back to Latricia, I walked towards her, then ended up following her to the galley in between our classes.

"'Tricia, what's up?" I asked her.

"I could use some help dispensing food," she said.

"Still don't want help from Katerina?" I asked quietly, grinning.

"Yeah."

I chuckled. "All right. No problem."

We then served first class their meals, going down one side first, then about half way down the other side, Miss Pratt went running by on the other side of the plane.

"Hey!" Latricia yelled.

I knew Miss Pratt was headed to the flight deck, since she was so eager to speak with Rich, and I became worried. The woman was becoming hysterical and God only knew what she would do.

Almost directly behind her, were Fiona, Stephanie, and some guy...I had a feeling he was the air marshal.

While Miss Pratt was pounding on the door to the deck, Latricia and I continued to serve the rest of the passengers swiftly, then moved the cart back into the galley. My heart was pounding faster as I stepped to the aisle to look at what was going on. Latricia walked up behind me, putting a hand tightly on my shoulder. I wasn't sure if she was holding me back or comforting me, but I didn't move either way.

The marshal got Miss Pratt under control and the two moved into the galley with Latricia and I. Fiona and Stephanie joined us not too long after.

"Gene Carson, air marshal," he introduced himself.

The four of us nodded in some way or another.

A minute or so later, Rich walked into the galley and looked around at all of us, his gaze lingering on me a second longer than anyone. Stephanie then spoke to Rich quietly, but I was only able to pick out small bits and pieces of what was being said.

"Miss Pratt, how can I help you?" Rich asked, looking at the woman.

"My daughter is missing and no one will help me find her," she said calmer than she was before.

"May I see her passport and boarding pass?" he asked.

Miss Pratt took a passport out off her pocket and handed it to him. Rich opened the passport, glancing at the picture and information.

"And her boarding pass?" he asked.

"I only have mine," she said, handing him her own pass.

Rich took it, scanning over it, then was silent for a moment.

"The departure gate had no record of her?" Rich asked, looking at Stephanie, who must have checked already.

"No, sir, I had them double check," she replied.

"And there's no boarding pass," Rich said more to himself than anyone.

"There was, but it was taken from me," Miss Pratt said.

I saw Latricia, who was standing next to Miss Pratt (I was standing across from the call button chart), shift her positioning and put her hands behind her back as she looked at Rich.

Rich took a few steps forward, looking down at the passport still in his hands, then turned back to Fiona.

"You were working the entry door, is that right?" he asked.

"Yes, captain," she answered.

"Did you see the girl?"

"I don't..." she paused for several, long moments. "I don't remember either way, sir."

"Sir, I did the count myself. 26A was empty," Stephanie broke in.

"Did you tell him about the bear?" Miss Pratt asked, also stepping a few paces forward, as she looked at Stephanie.

"The bear?" Rich asked, glancing over his shoulder to Stephanie and Fiona.

At the mention of the girl's bear, I sucked in a quiet breath; James had a bear...

"Yeah, her teddy bear. It was under her blanket and she would have never walked away without it," Miss Pratt explained.

That sounded like something James would do...

Rich stepped in front of Miss Pratt, putting Miss Pratt between himself and I, then lowered his voice.

"Have you had anything to drink on this flight, Miss Pratt? Anything alcoholic at all?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"No," she replied.

"Are you under any medication right now?"

"I have a couple sleeping pills with me just like every other passenger on board," she paused. "And I'm carrying Klonopin...for anxiety. I took two this morning."

Well, that could certainly add to the situation.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Latricia stand slightly behind Rich.

"I see. How long have you been on them?" Rich asked.

"I'm not on them."

"How long?"

Miss Pratt was silent for a moment. "I filled the prescription a week ago. When my husband died."

My eyes widened slightly and I swallowed visibly.

"My daughter and I are bringing his body back to Long Island for burial."

"There is a casket in the hold, sir. The paper work's from Kaiser Wilhelm Hospital on Hochstrasse," Stephanie confirmed.

"He fell," Miss Pratt continued, "six days ago, from the roof of our building."

Rich glanced at me as he turned his head to look at Mr. Carson before turning his head back to Miss Pratt. Sighing, he stepped away from her, and towards Fiona and Stephanie.

"Does anybody on board remember seeing her? Passengers in her row?" he asked them.

"No one has said so, sir," Stephanie answered, as Fiona shook her head. "There are thirty-two children listed on the manifest and they've all been accounted for."

Rich turned back (walking a few steps), then sighing again, brought a hand to his forehead briefly.

"You were seated near her Mr. Carson. Is that right?" he asked.

"That's right," Carson nodded.

Latricia silently moved from in between the two men, to along the wall with Stephanie and Fiona.

"Did you see her?" Rich continued.

Carson looked at Miss Pratt before looking back at Rich. "No, I didn't."

"Think about what you're suggesting, captain," Miss Pratt said, walking a few steps to have her back against the side of the plane instead of me. "You're suggesting that I imagined bringing her on board and that I am now pretending to look for her. Does that make any sense to you? Can you think of a reason why I would do that? I'm not drunk, I'm not loaded, I'm not looking for attention." She took a step towards Rich and lowered her voice a little. "There are protocols about these things. Post 9-11, if-if a pilot finds that he has an inaccurate passenger manifest he's supposed to land the plane immediately..."

"A teddy bear does not constitute an inaccurate passenger manifest," Rich interrupted.

"But I'm telling you that it's inaccurate! And that means you have to search the whole plane from nose to tail just like you would if it was your own child that was missing."

I saw Rich stiffen as she said that last part. Without moving my head, I shifted my eyes to watch Rich's face.

If I were this woman, I wouldn't have let my daughter have a row to herself, especially after her father died. And I wouldn't fall asleep, unless she was wrapped in my arms.

"Julia's only six years old. She's not in very good shape right now. She's scared of everything. I had to put her under my coat today just to get her in the car. But she did get in that car. And she got on this plane just like every other person here. And I fell asleep...which I should never had done, but she was right next to me. I was holding her hand when we took off. Please...you've got to help her," Miss Pratt was desperately trying to hold back tears as she said all this to Rich.

There was silence in the galley for almost a minute, maybe more, as Rich thought about what to do.

"Get the lights up," he turned to Stephanie, Latricia, Fiona, and I. "Get every passenger seated. No one in the toilets. No exceptions. Look for her backpack, her boarding pass. Check every closet, every bin." He turned back to Miss Pratt. "Are there any more questions?"

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you."

The four of us exchanged varied looks, as Rich gave the passport and boarding pass back to Miss Pratt. Latricia and I then headed to first class then business, while Stephanie and Fiona went to coach. All of us told any passing attendants what was going to happen.

While Latricia and I started getting passengers in their seats, I saw Rich head up to the flight deck with an irritated look on his face. When he was out of sight, the seatbelt signs went on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience, but the captain has turned on the seatbelt sign, and requests that all passengers return to their seats with their seatbelts securely fastened," one of the available attendants announced over the PA system, then it was repeated in German.

Latricia and I went through the rows of passengers checking seatbelts in both our classes, then went to help search the plane. We searched the closets of first class and the overhead bins in business.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like she lost a palm-pilot," some guy in business said as I walked by, checking the bins, and passing a fellow attendant.

Obviously, the guy was either single or had no kids and no desire to have any...I wanted to punch him in the face, but decided it was best to just keep the guy in mind for the next time I went to serve beverages in business.

I walked into one of the galleys, and almost into Fiona, as I was looking for something else to do.

"Looking for something to do?" she asked me.

"Yes, actually. Got anything for me?" I replied.

"Not really, but do you know where I can get a flashlight for Stephanie? She's going into avionics," she said.

"There should be one in the closet," I replied. "Come on. I'll help you look if there's not one there."

We were just about to move to the closet where the avionics ladder was when Stephanie walked into the galley. The three of us then headed to the closet. I took the key for the closet out of my pocket and unlocked it for them. Stephanie opened the door and slid the coats out of the way. I looked at the closet door, and pointed the flashlight out to Fiona, who took it out of its holder and looked down at it as she turned it on, blinding herself momentarily. I grinned at her as she blinked a few times.

"A six year old girl..." Stephanie started, kneeling down to move a bag off the trap door, "climbing into avionics?" She opened the door and looked down.

Rich came out of the galley and stepped up and slightly behind me. I gave him a half grin, as Stephanie continued.

"This is really silly," she mumbled.

"This is procedure," Rich corrected.

Stephanie looked up at Rich. "Captain." Fiona then handed her the flashlight. "Thanks," she said softly, taking the light.

Just as Stephanie was going down the ladder, Miss Pratt and Carson walked out of the galley, glancing our way; Rich and I both looked at her, and she nodded, then continued to walk to the back of the plane. Rich then looked down, making sure Stephanie was looking around for the girl.

He then stepped back and I subtly put my hand on his arm. He looked down at me as I looked up at him.

"Okay?" I asked him, very quietly.

"Yes, fine. You?" he replied the same way.

"I'm all right." I then lowered my voice even more. "Just missing James."

"I figured as much. Come to me when you get the chance."

I nodded and he walked back into the galley. Probably to supervise somewhere else.

A few minutes later, Stephanie came back up the ladder.

"Find her?" I asked, then shook my head. "Don't answer that. That was a really dumb question."

I then gave her a hand up after she handed the flashlight back to Fiona.

Fiona turned off the flashlight and put it back in its holder, then closed the door, which I then locked. The three of us moved back into the galley, so we were out of the way of anyone trying to get passed.

"Do either of you know of a place that hasn't been searched yet?" Fiona asked.

"I have no clue," I replied, honestly.

"I think the crew quarters and places downstairs need to be checked yet," Stephanie answered. "That's where I'm headed, if you want to come along."

She was on top of things.

"You two go ahead. I better go help Latricia," I semi-lied.

I was going to see if Latricia needed help, then if she didn't need me, I was going to find Rich...like he told me to. Walking through business, I almost whacked the guy from before upside the head as I walked by again, but held back...not by much, though.

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**A/N:**_ So, there's your update. I'm not in the greatest of moods right now, but I made it nice and long...for those of you who still read. Reviews would be great...so don't expect updates until I get some of those._


	12. Uncertainty

**A/N:**_ Mad thanks to the TWO people who decided to leave me a review. You have no idea how much I appreciate it...as for the rest of you: just thanks for reading._

_Here we go..._

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As I stepped into the next galley, Latricia was getting a cup of coffee ready.

"Hey, need any help?" I asked her.

"No, I can manage," she answered, then as soon as she did, a call button went off.

Glancing at the chart, I saw that it was someone in first class. Looking back at Latricia, I grinned.

"I'll get it, don't worry. Then I will leave you to work. Rich wanted to speak to me," I explained.

"Sure, he just wants to 'talk'," she teased, as she set down the coffee and cup, then used air quotes around 'talk'.

I snorted softly. "This isn't the mile high club, 'Tricia," I laughed, then headed to the passenger who called.

From behind me, I heard Latricia also laugh softly.

"What can I do for you?" I asked the man who pressed the button as I deactivated said button.

"I could really use some alcohol," he said.

"All right," I chuckled. "What would you like? We have a full bar, so pick your poison."

"Okay...I'll have an Appletini and one of those little bottles of vodka," he answered, lifting up his hand and holding his thumb and index finger about an inch apart.

"I'll be right back with that then."

I walked back to the lounge, and thankfully Bill was there, wiping down a glass.

"Hey, Bill," I smiled at him.

"Hey, Jo. What's up?" he answered, setting the glass down.

"Could I get an Appletini and a small bottle of vodka?" I asked. "It's not for me. It's for a passenger." I added, grinning.

"Sure. It'll just take a second," he replied, getting out a glass and the drink supplies he needed.

Bill ducked behind the counter and picked up the small bottle of vodka, placing it on top of the counter, then went around collecting ingredients for the martini. When he was done mixing, he poured the contents into a glass, setting it on the counter, also.

"There you go, Jo," he said, picking up the rag again.

"Thanks a lot, Bill," I said, then picked the glass and bottle up off the counter.

Carefully, so as not to spill any of the drink, I made my way back to the guy in first class.

"Here you are, sir," I said, once I made it there, holding the drink out to him.

"Ah, thank you," he said, taking the drink from me and setting it on his tray table, then took the bottle from me, also.

After he paid for his beverages, I headed to the flight deck. I knocked on the door and a split second later, Rich opened it, practically pulling me in and closing it behind me.

"Rich? Are you all right?" I asked, furrowing my brow, reaching up to place a hand on his cheek.

"I don't know, Jo. I just..." he paused, looking at the floor, then back up to me.

What I saw in his eyes startled me. I don't think I've ever seen him so...uneasy. He was always so confident, so sure of himself.

I brought my other hand up to his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, stepping towards him.

"I-I...Am I doing the right thing with this search?" he asked in a whisper.

Taking my hands away from his face, I walked around him, then pulled him with me to the right of the deck. Opening the door to the pilots' sleeping 'closet', I made him sit on the cot next to me and took his hand.

"Yes, Rich, you are. Just think: if James went missing, wouldn't you do the same thing?...Not that he would go missing to begin with, but if he ever did," I said, looking him right in his gray-green eyes.

He sighed heavily as he put his head on my shoulder, wrapping an arm around my waist. Leaning my head against his, I brought my hand up, and rested it on the back of his neck.

"I would do the same," he said into my shoulder.

"I know you would. I know," I said softly.

Rich lifted his head, and looked at me for a moment, then kissed me soundly.

"Are you okay now?" I asked when he pulled back, slightly out of breath.

He nodded, then rested his head back on my shoulder.

"To be honest...I don't know how I'd get through this if you weren't here with me," he mumbled.

"You would have. I have no doubt about it," I replied. "Besides, you know what they say about great men?"

"What do they say?" he asked, not lifting his head.

"They say that behind every great man, lies a great woman," I grinned.

Rich let out a small chuckle as I felt his breath on my neck, then he lifted his head.

"And who, exactly, are 'they'?" he asked.

"Got me. Probably some feminists or something," I answered with a shrug. "Or some Greek philosopher. How should I know?"

He laughed, then kissed me again.

I felt better when Rich laughed, it was a clear sign that he was regaining control and confidence.

Standing from the cot, I glanced down at Rich as he stood, also. He stared at me before I threw my arms around him in a hug, and rested my head under his chin. His arms snaked around my shoulders as he held me against him.

After a moment, there was a constant ringing of the service phone. Pulling away from Rich, I looked over to Lars, who picked up the phone.

"Rich," he called over to us.

Dropping my arms from around Rich (and his arms from me), I watched him as he walked over to get the phone.

"Do you want me to go?" I asked softly.

"No, not yet. Stay here," he said, just as softly.

Rich took the phone from Lars and spoke with whoever was on the other end. I saw him get a chill, then lift his right arm to rest across his chest (supporting his left arm) as he stood there.

I grinned, then went over to their closet and took out his navy blue pilot jacket.

Once he hung up the phone, he brought a hand to rub the bridge of his nose with a sigh. He looked over at me and I held out the jacket to him. With a quick grin, he took it from me and put it on.

"Miss Pratt is demanding to speak with me again," Rich said to both Lars and I. "You can get back to the passengers now, Jo." He said as he turned to me.

As we both walked to the door, I stopped Rich before he went for the handle. He looked at me curiously, and I grinned as I took a step towards him; reaching up, I fixed his tie, then just before I dropped my hands, he took them in his own and kissed the knuckles on both my hands (being wary of my rings).

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome."

Rich then opened the door and we both walked out. He went down one side of the plane while I went down the other and into the galley.

Once in the galley, I poured myself a cup of ginger ale just as Latricia walked in, sighing with relief.

"Everything all right?" I asked her.

"Yeah, they're just getting really antsy," she replied, taking my cup out of my hands and taking a drink.

"I could imagine...just having to sit there without being able to get up to even pee," I said, taking my cup back from her with a grin.

"You got that right," she agreed, also grinning.

"You know what? Take a break, I'll deal with them for a while. You deserve it after I leave you with them to...never mind. You just deserve a break," I said.

I didn't want to tell her that Rich felt uncertain a few minutes ago.

"What were you going to say?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Forget I was going to say anything," I said, tossing the empty cup in a trash bag.

"Jo..." she warned.

I sighed; I could trust her. "Fine. You can never retell this to anyone. Ever."

"I won't. I swear."

We stepped closer together and I lowered my voice. "Rich just wasn't feeling to sure about this search."

"Is he okay?" she asked, her own voice low.

"Yeah, he's fine now. I think he just needed to let it out, you know?"

Latricia nodded. "All too well."

"All right. Enough of this. Take a break, I'll deal with the people," I said, stepping back, and returning my voice to normal levels.

Just as I shooed Latricia away (and she went to go sit in her flight attendant seat), a call button went off, so I went to go see what they wanted. Since she just wanted some water, I got it, and gave it to her. As I handed her the cup, my attention was taken back to the galley.

"Joanna, may I speak to you, please?" Rich said, being professional since there were passengers around.

"Of course, Captain," I said, smirking slightly, then turned back to the woman. "Excuse me."

I walked to the galley to see what Rich wanted. Latricia was standing with him.

"Did you tell Latricia to take a break?" he asked me.

"Yes, she's been taking care of passengers while I've been with you. I was just letting her get off her feet for a while," I replied, not looking away from him.

"I see," he said, then turned to Latricia. "Five more minutes."

"Yes, sir," she said, while I rolled my eyes behind Rich's back.

He then looked back at me. "Got it?"

"Aye, Captain," I grinned.

Rich rolled his own eyes, then walked passed us to the flight deck.

Latricia and I laughed quietly, until another call button went off; this time in business class. Latricia went back to her seat, while I went to the passenger.

**A/N:**_ Good? Bad? If you let me know what you think, I'd be greatful._

* * *


	13. Thinking Too Much

**A/N: **_Nope, still don't own it._

_000000000000_

As soon as I got the passenger another seat of headphones (since his would 'only play in one ear', as he put it), the seatbelt signs were turned off by Rich and Lars.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. The captain has turned off the seatbelt sign. You are now free to move about the cabin," one of the flight attendants said over the PA system, then repeated it in German, as usual.

There were many phrases of 'finally' and 'thank God' as people got up and many headed to the restrooms.

I wanted to get out of the way of people rushing to get in line for the restrooms, so I headed back to the galley in between the business and coach classes, where there were no bathrooms. I stepped out of the galley to pick up a woman's pillow a few rows up in business that had fallen to the floor, then when I turned to go back into the galley, Stephanie was there, holding a slip of paper. Rich then walked into the galley, followed by Miss Pratt. I stood in the entryway to the galley and listened...it had to be about Miss Pratt's daughter. Rich glanced at me as he took the paper from Stephanie.

"This is from Kaiser Wilhelm Hospital on Hochstrasse. That's where your husband was pronounced dead. Is that correct?" Rich asked slowly, gently, looking at Miss Pratt.

"Yes," Miss Pratt answered, quietly.

"Your daughter was also taken there," Rich continued.

Carson walked into the galley and stood on the far side of the plane. Looking around the corner more, I saw Latricia and Fiona on the other side of the plane also, standing in the entryway, just like me.

"No. She wasn't there when it happened. She was with the nanny."

"Miss Pratt, according to the director at the morgue there, your daughter, Julia, died of internal injuries at 2:36 PM," Rich paused briefly, and I swallowed visibly again.

To loose both her husband and daughter...? God, if that were to happen to me, I'd find a hole, crawl in it, and never come out. At that thought, I felt my throat tighten and my eyes start to burn a little.

"He took her with him off the roof. Didn't he?" Rich continued, taking slow steps closer to Miss Pratt, who backed up.

"No, Julia wasn't even there. She was at the park. She was at the park. She wasn't even there," Miss Pratt rambled.

I didn't stick around to hear how that conversation ended. My eyesight was starting to blur and I was beginning to feel sick, so I high-tailed it out of there, and down to the galley in between business and first class.

I really wanted to have my son in my arms...and not just my son, but Rich as well.

Leaning my hands against the counter, I closed my eyes tight, and rested my forehead against the cabinet above my head. I felt the silent tears run down my cheeks, but let them slide...and damn anyone who saw me; I didn't care! It felt like my knees were going to give out, but I locked them in place so I didn't fall.

After a minute or so of standing there, I heard familiar footsteps.

"Jo?" Rich asked, as I heard him walk into the galley and stand at my side, putting a hand on my back.

Turning my head to the side, I just looked at Rich, the tears still falling down my face. As I looked at him, I saw there was moisture around the edges of his own eyes (more than normal, anyway).

"Rich..." I squeaked, just barely audible.

"God, Jo," he said, removing his hand from my back to wipe away the tears off my cheeks. "Come on."

I followed Rich through first class to the flight deck. No one gave us odd looks or stopped us as we passed by since everyone was desperate to get into the restrooms or stretch.

Once on the deck, Lars looked back at us, then, seeing the look on my face, ignored us.

Rich unbuttoned his jacket, then pulled me to him, wrapping me in his jacket as well. My arms instantly looped around him, gripping his back, as I buried my head in his shoulder and cried. His arms held onto me tightly and I felt him tilt his head against mine. His hands ran up and down my back, occasionally resting on the back of my head.

Without any warning to me, my legs gave out, but Rich had such a tight hold on me, I didn't collapse. He had to have felt it happen, though, since he was now holding all my weight.

After another moment, Rich shifted his arms: one going behind my shoulders and one behind my knees. He picked me up and carried me over to the cot we sat on earlier. Lifting my head from his shoulder, he set me onto the cot, then sat next to me, pulling me back into him.

My weeping lessened after a few minutes, so I pulled my head back to look at Rich. He opened his mouth to say something, but the service phone rang again. Lars answered, then looked over to us, indicating that someone was asking for Rich. He looked back at me, and I nodded my head in the direction of Lars and the phone. He got up, but very reluctantly, and took the phone from Lars after sniffling and clearing his throat.

While he was speaking, I laid down on the cot, using my sleeve to wipe at my face. I closed my eyes and got control of my breathing. When I opened my eyes again, Rich was standing next to the cot. I shifted over (keeping my feet off the cot to keep it clean) and he sat back down.

"Everything okay?" I squeaked out, then cleared my throat.

"For right now it is," he replied, putting his hand on the side of my face, running his thumb over my cheek. "A therapist just asked to talk to Pratt."

I nodded and we were both silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Rich," I sniffed.

"For what?" he asked, softly.

"This breakdown," I answered with a strangled chuckle. "I-I just thought about Pratt's situation too much, and how I would just find a hole to live in if something happened to you and James."

"Jo, nothing is going to happen to me or James."

"I know, but I just couldn't help thinking."

I sat up as Rich gave me a lopsided grin. Taking his hand away from my face, he slid it to the back of my neck and leaned in to kiss me. When we pulled apart, I looked at Rich's shoulder where my head was; it was a little damp from my tears.

"Sorry about your shirt," I smirked, reaching up to touch his shoulder.

"It's fine. It's not as if you vomited on me."

I chuckled, remembering a time about two years ago when James was sick and Rich, wearing his uniform, carried him up to his room. On the way, James had thrown up on him, and he didn't have enough time to change...he flew with a spot on his shirt.

"That's true," I smiled. "I better get back out there and help Latricia. I feel like I'm slacking off being in here."

"You don't have to," he whispered, straight-faced, resting his forehead against mine, and nuzzling my nose with his own.

"I should. I have to do something, anyway, or else my mind will wander again," I replied, closing my eyes.

"All right, fine, but if you need to, just come back," he instructed, moving his head back after another kiss.

"I will," I said, standing from the cot. "See you soon, Captain."

"Soon indeed, Love," he replied, also standing.

I grinned at him, then headed for the door. Rich went to his seat next to Lars to give him a break.

"Jo?" Lars said to me before I opened the door.

"Yes, Lars," I turned back to him.

"Kaffee, bitte?"

"Ah, naturlich. Ich, uh...Ich...forget it. I'll be right back," I said, giving up trying to figure out the German.

Lars laughed a little as he handed me his cup from before. I took it from him, then left the flight deck, heading back to the galley for the coffee. Latricia was in the galley, also getting a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Jo...you all right?" she asked, probably noticing that my eyes were still red and puffy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just vented a little," I responded.

I filled Lars' cup and put the teaspoon of sugar in it. I told Latricia that I would be back to help her in a minute or so after delivering the coffee. After walking to the flight deck, I knocked on the door, and this time Lars opened the door. He asked if I wanted to come back in, but told him that I needed to help Latricia. Handing him the coffee, I turned and went back to watch the call button chart in the galley.

As soon as I walked into the galley to check the chart, a button went off in business, so I wandered to the passenger to see what he wanted; he just wanted a can of Coca-Cola, which I easily got for him.

When I walked back into the galley, Latricia and Fiona were in there. Latricia was leaning against the wall, while Fiona was getting some hot tea. I stood with Latricia against the wall after Fiona left.

After about two minutes of us standing there, the overhead breathing masks dropped from the ceilings. I furrowed my brow at Latricia...it didn't make any sense; there was no change in pressure in the cabin.

Former pilot, remember? Of course I could tell if something wasn't right.


	14. Ms Fix It

**A/N:** _Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with presentations for my classes for the past 2 weeks and guy drama [rolls eyes]. But that's done, so here you go._

_Enjoy!_

_((()))((()))((()))((()))_

_After about two minutes of us standing there, the overhead breathing masks dropped from the ceilings. I furrowed my brow at Latricia...it didn't make any sense; there was no change in pressure in the cabin._

_Former pilot, remember? Of course I could tell if something wasn't right._

"What is it, Jo?" Latricia asked with concerned, noticing my look.

"We haven't lost pressure," I said. "But we might as well humor the passengers, since no one will listen to me anyway," I sighed.

We went to the closet to get the portable canisters of oxygen, then went through first class to make sure they had the masks on, then moved to business to do the same. Once we made sure our classes had their masks on properly, I moved into coach to see if they needed any help. A woman was freaking out because the strap on her mask was broken, so I went to her row, and gave her my portable one. She calmed down a little, then I walked back to first and business, looking for another canister to carry around (not to use).

Just as I took another canister out of the closet, all the lights went out, leaving only the monitors in the seats on.

"Wonderful," I muttered, closing the closet, and moving back to business.

As soon as I reached business, the monitors went out, blanketing the cabin in complete darkness and making the passengers freak out even more. For a moment, I wondered where Latricia went, but figured she was helping out back in coach since things were okay in first and business.

The emergency aisle lights came on while I was attempting to explain to some people in the first row in business that there was nothing to worry about. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flashlight, then looked over to see Rich walk purposefully through the class (no longer wearing his jacket).

"Where is she?!" I heard him question someone...possibly Carson?

After the people understood that there was no change in pressure, I moved on to tell other passengers a few rows back what I had just told the front row. I continued to do this every few rows until I was through the class.

Rich walked up to me, taking my arm by the elbow, and tugging me with him while he headed back towards the flight deck.

"I'll need your help," he said over his shoulder as we continued walking.

"With what?" I asked.

"Getting these bloody lights back on."

He was angry and I'm sure it was directed at Miss Pratt, but if he didn't relax, he wasn't going to be the only one pissed off.

Once we reached the flight deck, he opened the door, and both of us walked in. Rich went over to Lars and looked at the read outs.

"Are we near land?" he asked Lars.

"We are near Newfoundland," Lars replied.

"Okay, radio the nearest airport and tell them we need to land. If they ask why, say that we have a situation," Rich instructed. "Once you get an okay, start descending."

Lars nodded, then put on a headset.

Rich then picked up the service phone and made an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. There is no need to panic and there is no need for the masks. We're having a slight technical difficulty, and once that is taken care of, the lights should return. Please remain calm while the situation gets fixed," he said, then sighed once he hung up the phone.

Rich went to the other side of his seat, bent down, and grabbed a small tool kit. Coming back over to me, he handed me the tools, then kept walking over to the cot. Stepping up on it, he opened the trap door that lead to the attic, then stepped back down to the floor.

"I guess I'm coming up too, huh?" I asked, walking over to him.

"Yes," he grunted, still scowling, and looking through the trap door.

"Rich," I said softly, placing my hand on his arm.

He didn't say anything, just looked down at me.

"Relax. Please. The more pissed off you get, the more you're bound to make someone else pissed off," I said, looking him in the eye. "And it might start with me. I don't want to fight with you or anyone else."

After staring back at me for a few moments, I saw his shoulders slump slightly as he bowed his head. Putting my fingers under his chin, I lifted his head, then smirked at him.

"When we have the chance, I owe you a massage."

He laughed shortly as I took my hand away from his face. "You better."

"Okay, come on. Let's get these lights back on," I continued to grin.

After a nod, Rich reached up and pulled himself up through the trap door. Sitting on the edge, dangling his feet, he held a hand down to me. I put the tools in his hand.

"Oh, very funny," he said sarcastically.

"Well, I'm not climbing up there holding a pack of tools in my hand," I replied.

He set the tools next to him, then held both hands down to me.

"I can get up on my own, you know."

"Why do that when I'm here? Now, give me your hands."

I snorted softly, grinning, then lifted my hands up to Rich. He grabbed a hold of my wrists (and I grabbed his) and as I jumped, he pulled me up easily, setting me next to him as my feet also hung down...good thing I was wearing pants and not a damn skirt.

We both stood, having to bend to prevent hitting our heads, and picked up the tools as we went over to the electronic control box. The doors to it were open, indicating that someone had tampered with it.

"Pratt..." Rich growled, looking over the damage.

"It's not that bad...I mean besides the fact that she scared the shit out of over four hundred people," I said, with my hands on my hips, also looking at the damage.

Rich took a sidelong look at me. "Are you serious?"

"Well, look," I looked back at him, then pointed to the box. "She just moved the cable for the masks, which made them fall, and pulled the jack off the cable for the lights. She probably..."

"Shorted it out by touching the exposed wires to one of the other jacks," Rich finished my sentence. "Yes, I see that."

"See? It could have been worse. She could have pulled out all the cables."

Ever the optimist, I am.

"Yes, much worse," he whispered, then kneeled in front of the box.

"She just wants to find her daughter," I said softly.

"No one believes her daughter is alive, Jo. Are you saying you believe her?" he turned his head to look up at me.

I kneeled next to him. "Yes, I do. I find it very hard to think she's imagining the whole thing even if she's under medication," I put a hand on his arm, then sighed, looking away from him momentarily. "You know what? Forget I said anything. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen."

"Didn't want what to happen?"

"I don't want to fight with you about this, Rich," I whispered, leaning my forehead against his shoulder.

The last thing either one of us needed was to be at odds with the other...not on top of all this other shit that was going on.

Rich sighed, then brought his arm up to my back. "Jo, look at me," he said softly, after a moment.

After a sniff, I lifted my head.

He took his hand off my back and brought it to my cheek, where his other hand joined on the other side. "We're not fighting, Love. We're not even arguing. Just do me a favor: do not compare your life to hers. They are completely different."

I closed my eyes and pursed my lips together. Tilting my head down, Rich moved his hands from my cheeks to my back and shoulders, my head resting against his chest. After another moment, I lifted my head, looking into his gray-green eyes.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up," I finally said quietly.

Rich grinned slightly, then leaned towards me, giving me a reassuring kiss.

"Let's get this plane back on track, huh?" I said after we parted.

"That would be good."

After Rich let go of me, he rolled up his sleeves as I opened the tool kit and took out the tools and supplies we were going to need.

Hey, just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean I don't know how to fix things.

Looking at the floor, I saw the jack that Miss Pratt pulled off. Picking it up, I gave it to Rich as he picked up the tool he needed to put the jack securely back in place. While he did that, I took the overhead mask cable out of where it was and put it back in it's rightful place.

As I sat there waiting for Rich to finish, I heard and felt the plane start its descent.

When Rich finished reattaching the jack, he handed me the tools. While I put the tools back in the kit, he closed and locked the doors to the electrical box. Once that was taken care of, we headed back to the trap door, where Rich climbed down first. I tossed him the tool kit, then jumped down myself when he went to put it away.

When I landed, my ankle gave way (I blame it on the shoes), and I tumbled to the ground, with an 'oww' and a groan.

"Jo," Rich said, turning around after setting down the kit, and rushing over to me, kneeling at my side. "Are you all right?"

Worry was clearly in his voice and on his face.

I saw Lars look over his shoulder at me.

"I'm fine, Rich. I just landed wrong," I replied, taking off my shoe and rubbing my ankle.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He gave me a disbelieving look without the worry vanishing, but stood up. "Stay there. I'll be right back. I'm just going to check things," he said, pointing a warning finger at me.

"I won't go anywhere," I gave in, not even bothering to try and argue with him…since I didn't want to anyway.

He leaned down to put his hand on my cheek before straightening and leaving the cockpit.

* * *

**A/N**_: There ya go. Did you like it? Too forced, corney? Let me know in a review, please. _


	15. Carson's Suggestion

**A/N:**_ Happy New Year!! Hope everyone's holidays have been awesome! Sorry for the delay._

* * *

Sighing, I attempted to get up so I could at least sit on the cot and not the floor. When I stood, I put some weight on my right ankle just to see if it would hold me. I could stand, but when I went to take a step, pain shot through it, so I sat back on the cot.

"So Lars, where are we headed?" I asked since I knew he started descending.

"We are setting down in Goose Bay, Newfoundland," he replied. "It was the only place close by that would allow us to land."

"I see."

I sat on the cot for a few more minutes before Rich came back in, carrying a bag of ice. He came over, handing me the ice.

"Jeez, Rich. I don't need ice. I just shouldn't walk on it for a few minutes," I said, but took the ice from him anyway.

"Just put it on, please," he said, sitting down next to me.

"I didn't say I wouldn't, I just said it wasn't necessary."

Bringing my foot up onto the cot next to me, I put the ice on my ankle, taking a sharp intake of breath as I did so. Rich opened his mouth to say something, but I put my hand over his mouth to prevent him from saying it.

"I'm fine. It's just cold," I smirked, then took my hand away from his mouth.

He caught my hand in his, then bringing his other hand up to hold it, massaged my palm with his thumbs.

"Ice is supposed to be cold," he said with that damn, sexy smirk of his.

"I'm aware of that, but these pants aren't all that thick," I continued smirking.

Rich lowered our hands, then swooped in and kissed me.

Just as our lips met, there was a knock at the flight deck door. We both pulled back and looked at the door, then back to each other simultaneously. Rich got off the cot (after letting go of my hand) and went to see who was there.

"It's Carson," he said to both Lars and I as he looked at the monitor on the other side of the door.

Still trying to keep the fact that Rich and I were married away from passengers, Carson included, I took off my other shoe and pulled my feet up onto the cot as I moved to the end, closest to the door. I closed the door, but didn't latch it. I wanted to hear what Carson had to say...just didn't want to be seen.

Once I was hidden, I heard Rich open the door.

"Mr. Carson, is something else wrong now?" Rich asked.

I heard the door close rather swiftly and wondered if Carson closed it.

"I have a message from Pratt," he said. It sounded like he was taking charge.

"What does she want?"

"Fifty million dollars. Transferred into that account," Carson replied as I heard the rustle of paper. "Or they blow up the plane."

"'They'?" Rich asked after a small pause.

"She has an accomplice on board. She won't say who it is. But...that's who's holding the detonator. They want the plane deboarded on the tarmac, passengers first, then the crew. And they want a G3, fueled and waiting."

"So all that searching for the little girl was just a..." Rich started, saying it more to himself than Carson, but Carson cut him off.

"She's disturbed. Christ sake she used her husband's coffin to get the explosives on board. And as for the little girl? I don't know. Maybe she killed them both."

I brought a hand up to cover my mouth to prevent any sound from escaping. Something about this new situation didn't sound right. Miss Pratt didn't seem like the kind of woman to randomly blow up a plane...but what the hell would I know about that.

As I thought on that, images of James kept popping into my head.

Maybe it was a bad idea for Rich and I to travel together this time...I would like to see my son grow up...

There was a long pause before Rich spoke again. "I want to speak to her."

"She doesn't want that," Carson said very quickly. "She was explicit on that point. No approaches by any member of the crew."

Was Carson up to something...? How could Pratt pull all of this off?

I also wondered if Lars was hearing any of this.

"Now, listen...Listen."

I could only assume that Rich was thinking deeply on this and not looking at Carson.

"I don't get the feeling she wants to hurt anyone. I've never heard of a hijacker letting passengers deboard before. My recommendation is that you ask the airline to wire the money. Notify me when the transfer's been made. Okay? Let's let her keep thinking she's in control. We'll land, we'll get everyone deboarded, then we take her down," Carson explained, his voice significantly lower now. I had to strain to hear him.

There was another long pause.

"Very well," Rich finally said, quietly.

"All right," Carson said.

I heard footsteps, then the opening and closing of the door. Opening the door wider and sliding my feet down to the floor, I stood and carefully took a few steps towards Rich. He was leaning his back against the door, eyes closed, and a hand on his forehead.

"Rich..." I said softly, getting his attention.

"Jo," he said opening his eyes and dropping his hand, slightly surprised that I was standing. He pushed himself off the door and stepped towards me.

"I'm fine, Rich. Are you all right?" I asked.

"What do you think of all this?" he countered after a sigh.

"With what? What Carson just said?"

"Yes."

I thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know. I honestly don't think Pratt could pull this off by herself or even with an accomplice. We've both spoken with her and, I don't know about you, but I don't think she killed anyone," I said, hobbling a few more steps to him. "Wanna hear my recommendation?" I asked him, putting my hand on his hip.

"Yes, please," he replied, putting his own hand on my arm.

"Play along. Do what Carson said; contact the airline and everything...I want to be able to go home and see our son," I said the last part very quietly and increased the pressure on Rich's hip as I did so.

Rich's hand (that was on my arm) moved around my shoulders, while his other arm came up around my waist, pulling me tightly against him and kissing my forehead.

"All right. I'll contact the airline," he said against my hair. "We'll make it home to James."

I pulled back enough from Rich to look up at him, then tilted my head up to kiss him.

"Okay...I'm going to help Latricia out for the rest of the flight. Make it look like I've been doing my job the whole time," I half-grinned.

"Is your ankle all right now?" he asked.

"Yeah, it hurts a little bit. I'll be fine, though," I replied.

Rich reluctantly released me, then I went over to the cot to grab my shoes. After putting them on, I limped over to Rich, and after a kiss, I left the flight deck.

As I walked back to the galley, I checked for seatbelts since...well, I knew how to fly. And the fact that the announcement to put on the seatbelts and all that good stuff came on.

Once in the galley, I drank another cup of water, and was joined by Latricia.

"Jo, where've you been?" she asked, as I moved out of her way.

"With Rich. We were fixing the lights and stopping the oxygen from flowing," I replied. No point in telling her anything else that happened.

"You're limping. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just twisted my ankle...these damn shoes and jumping down from the attic don't combine well."

She laughed. "Well, as long as you're all right." She then stepped closer to me, lowering her voice a little. "Do you know where we're landing?"

"We're over Newfoundland and we're going to be setting down in Goose Bay," I responded, just as quietly.

"No New York yet then, huh?"

"No, not yet," I sighed.

Latricia had no idea how much I wanted to go home.

She and I then took our seats along with all the other flight attendants. I heard a lot of confusion coming from the passengers...obviously this place was not New York, which was the main reason for their confusion.

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**A/N:**_ Please review?_


	16. Explosion

**A/N:**_ I actually wanted to update this at the beginning of the month, but I just had too much crap to deal with: my first big filming project was due this past Monday and I was freaking out about it for a few weeks since I didn't know when I could get it done, I've had to write about 3 papers, I was in Canada this past weekend, and I've had hockey games every weekend...I could go on, but I don't think you all really want to know....._

_So, on with the show! Enjoy!_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

About ten minutes later, the plane touched down, and I let out a small sigh of relief. Small because just because we landed, doesn't mean the plane can't explode.

The door was opened down below and as I made sure the passengers deboarded all right, I took a glance out the window. There were flood, police, and ambulance lights, and FBI and police all over the place. Stairs and school buses were brought to take passengers further away from the plane.

Latricia and I grabbed our coats and bags (that we grabbed from the crew quarters earlier) as we followed the last of the first and business passengers down the stairs. We stood along the doorway with Fiona, Elias, Katerina, and Eric (Katerina's boyfriend and a fellow flight attendant). Latricia and I stood with Elias to the right (if you were going out) of the entrance/exit, while the other three stood on the left side.

Several long seconds went by before Rich walked in, followed by Lars.

"All set for deboarding?" Rich asked us as he walked by, a slight scowl on his face.

I was pretty sure he just about had it with Miss Pratt and everything about this flight.

Hearing quick footsteps and a call of 'captain', I looked back down the aisle to see Miss Pratt walking swiftly towards us, followed by Carson. She stopped just as she came into the entryway. Rich stopped at the door, not even bothering to turn around.

"Captain, look. I know I broke the law and I know I disrupted your flight but in a couple of minutes, we're going to find my daughter..." she started, but was interrupted by Carson.

"The crew can deboard now, captain."

"We're going to find my daughter," Miss Pratt said loudly to over power Carson. "And you're going to owe her an apology."

"Enough," Rich spat before turning around. "Miss Pratt, you're money has been wired, just as you asked. A G3 is waiting, just as you asked. Perhaps we can do without the pretense of a missing child now, hmm?"

As Rich made his little, annoyed speech, I kept my eyes on Miss Pratt and Carson. Pratt looked like she had no idea what was going and looked as confused as ever. Carson, on the other hand, looked like he could strangle Rich with the death glare he was giving him.

"What? What are you talking about?" Miss Pratt asked, sounding as if she was either taken aback or out of breath.

"Wait here, I'll get them," Carson said to Pratt as he walked to the stairs.

"Get who?" Miss Pratt asked softly.

"The agents," Carson said over his shoulder. "Wait here."

Carson then stepped out onto the top of the stairs.

I looked over at Rich and when he met my gaze, I rose an eyebrow at him, then after lowering it, I shifted my gaze quickly to Pratt before looking back at him, signaling that he should glance at the look on her face.

Surprisingly, he looked and what really got to me about his reaction was that...he had no reaction. I don't know if he was keeping it inside him or if he really didn't feel for Miss Pratt.

Miss Pratt then took quick steps to the top of the stairs. She looked to the right, then down to Carson.

"Carson!" she called down to him, then paused. "You get off the plane when I say you get off the plane!"

There was a moment of tension as I saw Carson come back up the stairs. The two of them then had some words with each other before stepping back onto the plane.

Rich stepped from where he was to the opposite side of the door. Miss Pratt took his place, while Carson stood next to Rich. Lars had moved back to stand next to me.

"The crew can deboard," Miss Pratt said, glancing at Rich before she glared at Carson.

Rich nodded to the crew that was standing in the aisle, and they immediately started exiting the plane. The six of us that stood in the entryway were the last ones to exit: Katerina, followed by Eric, Elias, Fiona, Latricia, then me, bringing up the last of the attendants. Lars followed me, and Rich was about to follow him, but I heard him speak with Miss Pratt briefly before he left.

At the bottom of the stairs, we were corralled onto a school bus. Since Lars and I were the last ones on the bus (before Rich) we ended up sitting in the front two seats. Latricia and Elias were behind me.

"Come on, come one, come on..." I chanted very quietly, as I kept looking out the window, waiting for Rich to step out.

When I saw Rich walk out then pause at the top of the stairs before descending them, I sighed heavily.

Carson closed the door as Rich left, and I quite frankly didn't really care what happened on that plane then; my husband, one of the two major loves in my life, was all right. (My other love was James, obviously.)

Rich reached the bottom of the stairs and I almost ran out to him, but restrained myself. I saw him put something in his jacket pocket before he stepped onto the bus. Once he sat down next to me, the bus driver closed the door, and we headed away from the plane, back towards the hanger.

Taking Rich's free hand (since he was holding onto his bag in his other) in my own shaking hand, I squeezed it as I looked up at him. When he squeezed back, I bent my head, resting my forehead on his shoulder. I kept my head there until the bus stopped and we were allowed off.

When we all got off the bus, we all stood, watched, and waited for something to happen on the plane. Fiona and Latricia stood to my left as Rich stood to my right for a moment.

"I'll be right back. There's something I have to give to someone," Rich said to me with a quick grin.

"What?" I asked, referring to what he was going to give.

"I'll tell you later," he said softly, then walked over to the nearest FBI agent.

As he walked, I looked around me, seeing if all of the attendants were there.

"Where's Stephanie?" I asked, looking back at Fiona and Latricia.

They both looked over their shoulders to search for her in the crowd. I also looked again...maybe I just overlooked her.

"I don't see her," Latricia said, looking back at me.

"Me neither," Fiona added.

She couldn't have been in on this whole 'missing child' thing with Pratt...could she...?

I looked back at the plane, and as I did so, Rich came back up to my right side. Taking my hand and lacing his fingers with mine, he looked down at me as he held my hand tightly.

"What is it?" he asked me, noticing the look on my face.

"Stephanie isn't among us," I responded, looking up at him, then back to the plane.

Without saying anything, Rich looked around him (I assumed he was looking for her also), then also looked back to the plane.

About five minutes later, we all saw a figure rush down the stairs from the plane and run across the snow covered ground, away from the hanger and the people. Barely making out the longer hair and the slight flare to the pants, I realized that it was Stephanie...she _was_ in on it, but obviously backed out and tried to escape.

I looked up at Rich with a slightly worried look. He unlaced his fingers with mine, then put his arm around my shoulders, holding me against his side. I reached my right hand up (and across my chest) to grasp his hand on my shoulder, then looked over my shoulder to Fiona and Latricia to see if they saw what I saw. Their mouths were hanging open slightly, so I assumed they did. Looking back to where Stephanie ran, I saw a bunch of police officers and FBI agents run after her.

I took Rich's arm off my shoulders, and setting my bag on the ground next to me (not caring that the ground was wet and my bag would soak up the water), I held onto him with both hands, wrapping them around his arm. He set his own bag on the ground, then brought his hand up to cover one of mine.

About three minutes after Stephanie ran, we heard a clattering in the direction of the plane. There were lots of gasps as all of our attentions were back on the plane. Within another moment, the front part of the plane was engulfed in a fireball, signaling that there were indeed explosives onboard and someone detonated them.

As the plane exploded, I ducked my head behind Rich's shoulder as he turned his own head away and brought his right arm up to shield us.

"Good Lord, she did it," I heard him mumble as he lowered his arm and looked back at the plane.

Moving my head, I looked up at Rich before I myself looked back at the plane in a state of shock.

I heard a gasp and an 'oh, my God' from my left as Latricia and Fiona reacted.

Just as the explosion was calming, the landing wheels on the front of the plane gave way and collapsed, making the front portion of the plane smash into the ground, completely annihilating the windows of the flight deck.

I jumped slightly, then I heard more gasps and a lot of communication over walkie-talkies.

Without realizing it, I had gripped Rich's arm tighter than I would have wanted to; then when I felt his muscles twitch as he moved his hand, I released my death grip on him. Slowly letting my hands slide from him, I took his hand back in mine, and we both squeezed.

Moments after the fireball disappeared and only smoke remained, we saw a figure emerge from the plane.

"Oh, my God. She's..." I heard Eric start from behind me.

"What is she holding?" Fiona asked from my left.

"She's holding her...daughter," Rich said in disbelief.

Glancing up at him, my mouth dropped open slightly, before I shifted my gaze back to Miss Pratt as she walked out of the wreckage, carrying her daughter.

Upon seeing Pratt holding her daughter, I sucked in a sharp breath...I wanted so much to hold my son in my arms and sit on the couch in our sitting room with him on my lap.

"Her daughter," Latricia muttered.

The police vehicles, that were parked behind our group of crew members, started speeding towards Pratt as one of the helicopters overhead shined a spotlight on her. Ambulances and fire trucks joined the police squad.

Closing my mouth, I looked over at Latricia and Fiona. Both looked just as speechless as I felt. Just as they were stepping back, I looked back up at Rich.

He looked down at me briefly and I saw confusion, guilt, and a longing to help all mixed in his expression. He took a few steps forward, but stopped when there was a pull on our joined hands. Stepping back to my side, all we could do was watch as the emergency vehicles reached Miss Pratt. She and her unconscious daughter were ushered into an ambulance as the fire trucks kept going towards the plane to extinguish any remaining fire.

A cop came up to us.

"We're going to have to ask you to move inside the hanger, please," he said.

Rich and I both nodded numbly, then, with one last look towards Pratt and the E-474, we followed the rest of the crew into the hanger; we were the last to enter.

* * *

**A/N: **_Well? What do you think? I have a lot more to get to, so it's not over yet...they have to get back home, anyway._

* * *


	17. Phoning Home

**A/N: **_Sorry for the delay...if anyone actually still reads this. I actually forgot about this story until I scanned my list of stories and I was like 'shit, I could update that one'. LOL._

_Since it's been a while: the crew and passengers got off the plane A-OK. The plane blew up and Pratt has her daughter. Everyone is being ushered into the hanger._

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There were tables and benches set up around the perimeter of the hanger, while a spot towards the middle of the back was roped off.

I saw Latricia and Fiona set their bags down at a table in the corner to our left along with Elias, Bill, Lars, and three other attendants. Rich and I walked over to them, setting our own bags on the table. As I set my bag down, I noticed that my hands were shaking...and not only my hands, but I felt my whole body shaking slightly. I wasn't exactly sure why I was shaking, but had an inkling that it was the situation and thoughts swimming around in my head. I held my hand out in front of me, palm down, and watched it shake for a moment before I brought my other hand up and clasped them together.

Before I passed out or my legs gave out, I sat down on the bench, then, resting my elbows on my knees, I put my face in my hands.

Feeling someone sit on my right, I turned my head to see who it was.

"Are you okay, Jo?" Fiona asked.

"I think so, just a little shaken up," I replied, moving a hand to my forehead.

"I think we all are," she motioned to the people around her. "Do you want a drink of something?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine," I mumbled, putting my face back in my hands.

"Okay," she said softly, then got up.

A moment later, I took my hands away from my face and watched them shake again. Rich, who had been standing to my left, sat down, his shoulder and hip coming in contact with my own. I quickly dropped my hands, and looked at him.

Rich reached over and took my left hand. He held onto my wrist as he watched my hand shake for a moment, then lifted his left to take mine. Leaning away from me slightly, he moved his right arm behind my shoulders, pulling me into him.

I rested my head on his shoulder and took deep breaths. I couldn't stop shaking, and not knowing why was pissing me off. Turning my head, I rubbed my face into his shoulder, taking one last deep, shuddering breath and inhaling his scent.

"Jo," he said, then waited until I picked my head up off his shoulder before continuing. "What's wrong?"

"I really don't know. I don't know what I'm thinking about. I don't know why I'm thinking. I don't even know why the bloody hell I'm shaking," I answered, looking down at my hand, tightening on his. I relaxed and slowly released my grip.

He chuckled a little, which made me look up at him questioningly.

"Even I can answer those," he paused grinning, then went on. "You're thinking about James and wanting to hold him. Why? Because he's your son and this whole flight has had you thinking about him. And you're shaking because we all just witnessed the plane explode. The same plane we were on and could have had us on it."

"You know me too well," I responded softly.

"I have to," he rested his forehead against mine. "You are my love, my life, and my world." He said each phrase slowly.

"You're gonna make me cry again," I said grinning, as I felt my throat tighten and my eyes burn.

It was like he was reciting his marriage vow again...no, I didn't cry during our wedding, but came damn close.

"We don't want that again, so soon," Rich replied, then gave me a chaste kiss.

When we moved apart, a cop walked up and stood on the other side of Rich. Lars stood next to the officer.

"Captain, is it all right if we speak with you and your co-pilot for a few minutes? We have a few questions," he said.

Rich looked back at me, then took his arm off my shoulders and let go of my hand.

"Be right back," he said quietly, patting my knee as he stood up.

I nodded and gave him a lopsided grin as he walked away with Lars and the cop. They went over to a small group of police towards the back of the hanger.

"Hey, Jo. How're you doing?" Latricia sat to my right and held a Styrofoam cup out to me.

"Thanks," I said, taking the cup, and looking down in it. "I'm okay, just a little shaken. How're you?"

"Shaken, also," she took a drink out of her own cup. "Can you believe this?"

"What part?"

"Any of it. It's all so...strange."

"What? Never been on a plane that's threatened to be hijacked?" I asked as sarcastically as I could.

"No, I haven't, and as far as I can recall, neither have you," she replied.

"Did you not hear the sarcasm in any of that?" I asked, grinning slightly and looking at her.

She shook her head at me in a tisking manner, grinning also. "I just think that Pratt's situation was a little strange, too, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I agree with you there," I said, taking a sip of the beverage she brought to me. I laughed slightly after I swallowed the drink.

"What are you laughing at?" Latricia asked me.

"Tea?"

"I thought you'd be sick of anything else."

"Well, that's true...but you know Rich is English, not me," I chuckled again.

"You've lived there long enough. I'd consider you part English," she smirked.

"All right, all right. You win."

I was about halfway done with my tea when Rich and Lars returned to our little table. Rich retook his seat next to me, while Lars sat on the other side of the table.

By the time they came back, I realized that I had stopped shaking.

"What do you have?" Rich asked, pointing to my cup.

"Tea. Want some?" I offered him the cup.

Greedily, he took it from my hand and, after looking into it, took a drink.

I smirked at him...I really didn't have to ask him if he wanted any. I should have just handed him the cup; he would have known what was in it.

"I've had better tea," he mumbled.

"Well, we're not at home, so this'll have to do...I didn't get it anyway," I said.

"Who got it?"

"Latricia."

Rich looked down into the cup. "Don't ever let her make tea for me."

I chuckled. "I won't let her. I won't even let her near a kettle."

"Good," he grinned, then attempted to hand the cup back to me.

"You can have the rest. I'm done," I grinned.

We sat there for a while before a thought occurred to me. I turned to face Rich, bringing my left leg up onto the bench and bending it in front of me as I put a hand on his arm.

"We should find a phone," I said softly.

Rich didn't have to ask what I meant. He knew we had to call Sharon to tell her it would probably be another day before we got home and so we could both hear James' voice even if it was just for reassurance.

"Hmm, yes," he agreed.

He got up from the bench and took a few steps to the nearest trash can to throw out the Styrofoam cup. When he came back to me, he held out his hand.

"Let's go find a phone," he said.

I took his hand as I stood up and we walked around for a few minutes before we figured we wouldn't find a phone on our own. I walked up to one of the cops and asked if he knew where we could find and use a phone.

"Is it a local call?" he asked me.

"No...but what would be considered a local call here, anyway?" I replied.

"Good point. Where are you planning on calling?"

"England...and we have a calling card if that makes a difference."

"Wow, okay. Wait here a moment, I'll see what I can do."

I nodded as the cop walked away from us and over to another group of officers. One of them handed him something, then he walked back over to us.

"Here you are. Just return it to me when you're finished," he said, smiling, and handed me a satellite phone.

"Sure. No problem," I responded. "Is it all right if we step just outside, just for some privacy?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Just go right outside the door."

Again, I nodded, then Rich and I went to the nearest door and walked out. I handed the phone to Rich since he had the calling card and knew Sharon's number by heart.

Taking his wallet out of his back pocket, he took out the card and dialed the number, then after getting through the recorded stuff, he dialed Sharon's number. He handed me his wallet and the card, meaning I should put the card back in...so I did, then stuck it back in his pocket.

"Jeff? Hello, it's Rich. Is Sharon there?" he said when Jeff obviously picked up the phone on the other end. "Okay, thank you." Rich lowered the phone from his mouth and looked at me, rolling his eyes. "He's getting her."

I nodded stiffly, then started pacing in front of him, crossing my arms over my chest. I brought my right hand up and chewed on my fingernails...the anticipation was going to be the death of me.

"Hello, Sharon...We're fine, now...There was an incident, that's why I'm calling. We're going to have to add a day or so for you to take care of James...No, we're not in New York yet...We're in Newfoundland, but should be leaving here by tomorrow morning or afternoon."

I took Rich's left arm and looked at his watch. It was way past midnight, so I pointed to his watch to let him know.

"Make that this morning or afternoon," he grinned at me, then I went back to pacing. "Sharon, I'm going to give the phone to Jo. I'm pretty sure she wants to ask you something." A moment later, I stopped pacing as Rich handed the phone over to me.

"Hi, Sharon," I said, constantly wiggling the fingers on my left hand.

"Hello, Jo. What did you want to ask?" my sister-in-law replied.

Instead of wiggling my fingers, I took Rich's hand before I asked Sharon what I needed to hear.

"Could I speak to James?"

"Of course. Let me get him," she replied. I heard shuffling as she moved through her house, then: "James, mummy's on the phone."

I heard James' familiar squeal of excitement as he went to Sharon from where ever he was, then I squeezed Rich's hand harder. My throat tightened and eyes burned as I heard him.

"Hi, mommy," James said.

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to prevent my bottom lip from quivering...just hearing his voice wasn't as good as actually seeing him. But at least I knew he was okay.

"Hi, sweetie," I finally said, which came out as a squeak. I cleared my throat, then spoke again. "Are you having fun with Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jeff, and Cole?"

"Yes, mommy. Yesterday, we played football and Cole kicked the ball and broke the kitchen window," he said excitedly.

James loved to play football (soccer to my fellow Americans) and it was all thanks to Rich since he used to play before college.

I laughed a little as Rich put his left arm around my waist. "Did he get in trouble?" I asked.

"Sort of. He just can't play football until the window's fixed and after it's fixed, he can't play for a month," he paused before he spoke again. "Mommy, when are you coming home?"

There were tears in my eyes and I felt at least one slide down my cheek. I released Rich's hand and brought it around his back, where I gripped his jacket.

"We'll be home in two days, I hope," I said after a sniffle.

"Did you get me something from Germany?" he asked.

"Yeah, honey, we got you something," I said, then took a breath. "Do you want to talk to daddy?"

"Yeah!" he screeched.

"Okay. I love you, James," I said, practically bursting out into tears again.

"I love you, mommy."

I handed the phone back to Rich, then buried my face in his opposite shoulder, sobbing quietly. Both of my arms were around his back, and I was holding onto his jacket for dear life. I didn't hear what Rich said to James since I was concentrating on staying on my feet and trying to keep my crying as quiet as I could; I only caught the last phrases of their conversation.

"I love you, too, James. Give Aunt Sharon the phone now, okay?" Rich paused while he waited for James to give the phone to Sharon, and while doing so, he left a lingering kiss to the side of my head. He cleared his throat and sniffled. "Yeah, I'm here...I'll tell you when we get home. Look, we're borrowing a police officer's satellite phone, so we'll call when we land back home, okay?...We will. See you soon."

Once Rich hung up the phone, he stuck it in his pocket, then tightly wrapped his arms around me, holding me snuggly against him as I continued to sob into his shoulder. His left hand would come up to sit on the back of my neck occasionally; I felt him rest his head on my shoulder at one point, also.

I relinquished my extremely tight grip on his jacket and slid my hands up his back, under his jacket, to hold on to the backs of his shoulders. Turning my face into his neck, I started to get control of myself.

After a few more minutes, the control of my emotions was under my power, and I forced myself to take deep, deep breaths, breathing onto Rich's neck.

Rich lifted his head from my shoulder and attempted to look down at me. He lightly ran his fingers up and down my back as I was calming down.

When I lifted my head from his shoulder, I also took my right hand off his shoulder, and brought it around to wipe at my eyes, then placed my hand on his chest. I took yet another deep breath and let it out slowly through my nose.

After I exhaled, I looked up at Rich; his own eyes were misty, with a tear track down his left cheek, and I heard him sniffle softly a few times. Taking my left hand away from his shoulder, I brought it around and up to his face, along with my right. With my right hand, I lightly ran the backs of my fingers over his cheek, wiping away his few tears that fell.

Rich closed his eyes as he brought his right hand up and across his body to grasp mine. He took my hand and held it against his chest, directly over his heart. Then he lowered his head, resting his nose on my cheek.

"He sounded like he was having fun," I eventually said softly.

"He did," Rich replied in my ear.

"I still miss him. Just hearing his voice made me want to be with him more," I admitted.

"I know. Me too," he said, lifting his head back enough to look at me.

In another instant, I tilted my head up and kissed him soundly.

When I pulled back, he followed, not letting his lips be more than an inch away from me. I halted in my movement and his lips came back in contact with mine.

He was letting his defenses down again...this was hitting him harder than I thought.

"Maybe you should rest before you fly again," I said, pulling back after another few moments.

"I'll be fine, Jo," he replied. "Besides, they're bringing in two 747s and a large jet with their own pilots to get us all to New York; the 747s for the passengers and the jet for the crew."

"How do you know this?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"The police told me when they asked me questions."

"Then...when will they be here?"

"At first light."

I took his left arm and pulled his sleeve back to look at his watch again since I had forgotten what time it was; it was almost three.

"So, what do we do for another three hours or so?" I asked, taking my hands out of his and wrapping them around his neck.

"I'm sure the police and FBI will keep us busy," he sighed.

"Speaking of police, we should get that phone back to them before they hunt us down for it," I said, running my fingers along the nape of his neck to relax him.

"Mmm, yeah," he hummed.

After another kiss, we separated, and headed back into the hanger. I looked around for the cop that gave us the satellite phone, and spotting him relatively close by, we walked over, handing the phone to him.

"Thank you very much," I said, with a small smile.

"You're welcome," he smiled back.

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**A/N:**_ Well, there you go. Nice and long._

_I have to laugh everytime I see 'anticipation'. I always think of The Rocky Horror Picture Show: "antici......pation." Ha! Man, it's been a while since I've seen that..._

_Anywho, reviews are greatly appreciated! Please?_


	18. Questioning and Jets

**A/N: **_I figured I'd update more frequently now since I'm out of college for the summer and I have no job (as of right now) again. We're getting closer to the end...maybe 3 or 4 more chapters after this._

_ENJOY!_

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Rich and I then returned to our table of friends. I sat down heavily next to Latricia as Rich sat on my other side again, then talked with Lars.

"Okay?" Latricia asked me, nudging my shoulder with her own.

"Yeah, we're all right now," I replied, scratching my head.

"'We're'?" she questioned me.

"Yeah, Rich and I called his sister, where James is staying. We told her it was going to be about another day before we got home," I paused. "And we talked to James...it got pretty emotional, for both of us."

"But you're okay now?"

"Yes, just needed some time on our own."

Latricia reached back to the table behind us. She picked up a bottle of water and handed it to me, then another.

"Have a drink. For you and Rich," she grinned.

"Thanks," I responded softly.

Holding a bottle in my left hand, I tapped Rich's shoulder with it. When he turned to me, I held the bottle out to him.

"Thanks, Love," he said, taking to bottle from me.

"No problem, Captain," I replied.

For the next three hours, everyone in the hanger was either being questioned by police and/or FBI, walking around, or sitting at a table, resting or snacking.

Just as day was breaking, an FBI agent came up to me and took me aside to ask some questions about what happened on the flight. Behind the agent, I saw Rich walk over to Miss Pratt, who was sitting in front of the roped off area (where the FBI was sorting the luggage), holding onto her still unconscious daughter. I zoned out to what the agent was asking me as I looked over his shoulder to watch and listen to Rich. (I was only a few yards away from them.) He gave up asking me things after he turned to look where I was looking.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, realizing I wasn't going to pay attention to him.

I nodded, then he walked away, probably going to ask another crew member some questions.

"She looks like you," Rich said to Miss Pratt.

"Yeah," she said, glancing up at Rich before looking back down. "Yeah, there's a little bit of her dad in there, too." She then ran her finger over her daughter's eyebrow...just like I did with James.

"My wife does that with our son," he said softly, looking over at me.

Miss Pratt looked over at me as well, and I nodded to her with a slight grin; she nodded back, then looked back at Rich.

"I'm...I'm sorry," Rich said, then looked at the floor, not knowing what else to say.

A door opened behind Rich and to his left. Stephanie was led through the hanger by an FBI agent. She was in handcuffs and was followed by a few more agents. As she walked past, she glanced at me, and a chill ran down my spine. After she went by, I looked back at Rich and Miss Pratt. Two FBI agents approached her.

"Miss Pratt, our office in Berlin has detained the morgue director. They'd like you to I.D. a picture of him," the taller, younger agent said.

"Can't it wait?" Rich asked the agents, then looked at Miss Pratt briefly.

"Sure," the guy said, then walked away with the other agent.

Miss Pratt looked up at Rich in a silent 'thank you'. Rich then nodded once and walked over to me.

"That was kind of you," I said, when he stopped next to me.

"It's about the only thing I can do for not believing her," he replied, looking down at me. "You seemed to be the only one who did."

"I wouldn't say that," I responded quietly.

By then, the agent who began to ask me questions before, came back over to us. At the same time, over the agent's shoulder, I saw Miss Pratt get up from where she sat and walked over to a van...but I still listened and replied to the agent. Once she and her daughter were settled, the van pulled away, and I was a little curious to know where they were going...were they going to drive the whole way to New York?

"Thank you for your time," the agent said to both Rich and I once he was done questioning us, then he turned to walk away, but stopped and looked back. "Oh, and captain. You and the rest of your crew will be on the first jet heading to New York since you all have another flight to catch."

"And when will that be?" Rich asked.

"It should be here in about half an hour."

Rich nodded after the agent walked away, he put his arm around my shoulders, kissing the side of my head; he then sighed.

I took his hand that was around my shoulders and looked up at him. "Shall we inform the rest of the crew?" I asked, smirking, and nodding towards the tables containing the crew.

"We shall," he smirked back.

He took his arm off my shoulders once I released his hand, then he grasped my other hand as we walked back to the table.

"Have you heard anything on when we get to get out of here?" Lars asked us, standing from the table, once we were close enough.

"We're leaving in about half an hour. There's a large jet coming for the crew, then two 747s for the passengers," Rich answered.

I let go of his hand and sat on the bench next to Latricia.

"Good news," I said, smiling.

"You've found something to entertain us until we get out of here?" she guessed.

"Better. We're actually getting out of here," I replied.

"What?! When?!" she practically yelled.

"Shh!" I said, chuckling and looking around us. "In about half an hour. The crew gets on a jet since we have another flight to get on, then two 747s are coming to get the passengers to New York."

"That's great! It's about time. I'm ready to go. I don't know about you, but I hated sitting around here being asked the same questions by several different people," she said.

"Yeah, I hated it, too," I agreed. "Care to spread the word to the other crew members?"

"With pleasure," she said, standing from the bench and walking to the other table.

"Did I hear you right, Jo? We're getting out of here?" Elias asked from behind me on the bench at the other side of the table.

I turned on the bench to see Fiona, Elias, Katerina, and Eric all looking at me for confirmation.

"Yes, we are," I confirmed, smiling.

The four let out a collective sigh of relief, then sat on the bench more relaxed. I looked over their shoulders and watched Latricia as she spread the news.

Rich sat next to me once he was done speaking with Lars. I spun around (since I was turned the other way) and smirked at him, then took his hand in between both of mine, rubbing it. He smirked back at me, then I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Everyone seems to be ready to go," I said softly.

"It seems to be that way," he replied, just as softly. "Are you ready?"

"More than ready."

He snorted softly, then rested his head on mine.

About ten minutes later, Latricia came back and sat on my other side; she had finished spreading the word. She shoved a few left over water bottles on the table in her bag, making me chuckle quietly.

Within the next twenty minutes, word had spread like a wildfire. As a few passengers walked past our table, I heard them talk excitedly about finally getting to New York by the afternoon. Soon after the passengers passed, an FBI agent approached our table. Lifting my head from Rich's shoulder and letting go of his hand, he stood, along with Lars.

"Captain, if you and your crew are ready, we can get you onto the jet," the agent said.

"We've been ready," he answered, then looked down at me.

I stood, then nodded to those around me, signaling that we could go.

Once the rest of the crew stood, and grabbed their bags, the agent nodded, then started leading us out. Lars went first after the agent, then the crew followed. Rich, Latricia, and I were the last to leave, making sure none of the crew was left behind.

As we were walking to the jet, I looked around, now that it was light out. It was flat land for miles, and I realized that this had to be the worst place we've landed a plane...there wasn't much to the surroundings.

We climbed up the stairs to get on the jet; Latricia first, then me, then Rich, bringing up the rear. Rich stayed by the entrance to speak with the FBI agent for a few moments.

Latricia walked towards the back of the jet, where there were still some empty seats. I followed her until she sat in the second last row from the back, then I sat myself in the last row on the left hand side (behind Latricia), since Lars was on the right. I stuffed my bag under the seat, then grinned for some reason.

"Hey, at least we don't have to serve people for another few hours," I said to Latricia, leaning on the back of the seat she wasn't occupying.

"Yeah, and we get to sleep for those few hours," she replied.

"Here, here."

I then sat back down in the seat just as Rich was walking back. He set his bag under the seat in front of him, then after taking off his jacket, he sat next to me. Sighing, he leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes, and putting his arms on the armrests.

After buckling my seatbelt, I turned his hand over and ran my fingers lightly up and down his fingers and palm.

Rich opened his eyes and turned his head to look at me. He closed his eyes again as he grinned.

"I love you, Jo," he said sleepily.

I leaned towards him, lightly kissing his lips. "And I love you, Rich."

When I felt the jet start rolling, I sat back in my seat, but kept my eyes on Rich for a few moments, then looked out the window still running my fingers along his hand. Once we were off the runway and in the air, I looked back at Rich, then shifted to lean against him.

"This is your Captain and we've just taken off," Rich started quietly. "The weather is partially sunny with no sign of snow, finally. The view out of the window is terrible, only barren land, but the view I see is much better."

Laughing, I lifted my head and looked at him again. He was looking at me with his eyes half open and smirking that sexy smirk.

"You're a piece of work," I grinned, placing my free hand on the opposite side of his face.

He let out a low chuckle, then removed his hand from the armrest, making me pick up my hand and taking my other away from his face. Lifting the armrest in between us, he shifted, and laid down, putting his head on my lap with a sigh; he put his right hand on my thigh, near my knee.

I sat back in the seat and slouched down a little so I was comfortable. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I stared out of the window for several seconds.

"I still owe you a massage," I said, leaning over him.

"When we get home," he mumbled. "Wanna sleep."

Smirking, I leaned back, then lifted my hand from his shoulder to his head, where I ran my fingers through his short hair. I then ran my hand up and down his back until I felt his breathing steady, signaling he was asleep.

I didn't have any plans on waking him, since he hadn't slept well the previous night, and he still had to fly...I doubt he'd leave everything up to Lars again.

Speaking of Lars, I looked over at him, and saw that he was asleep also; his closed eyes and mouth hanging open slightly was a dead giveaway. It appear that most of the crew was sleeping...and I was on my way to join them.

Reclining in the seat again, I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, going to sleep for as long as I could.

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**A/N:**_ That seemed short to me...I dunno. Maybe I'm just so used to reading it that it felt short. *shrugs* Meh._

_PLEASE leave me a review to let me know what you think. I've been reveiw depraved recently (not just this story) and it's really quite depressing._


	19. Juvenile Delinquents

**A/N:**_ Hey all...anyone. Here's another chapter._

_FYI: I'm watching the Stanley Cup Finals (hockey...game 5) right now and my Penguins are losing, my man Marc-Andre Fluery (goalie) got pulled, and the game isn't being called well AT ALL, so I'm REALLY pissed off. If there are any mistakes, that's my excuse._

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The next time I woke up, it was because there was an odd feeling on my thigh. Cracking open an eye, I looked down and saw Rich tapping my leg lightly with his fingers. Opening both eyes, I tilted my head down (with much effort considering my neck was stiff) to see Rich staring back at me, head still on my lap.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to wake up," he said, stilling his hand movement.

"How long have you been doing that?" I asked groggily, bringing a hand up to rub my eyes.

Rich sat up slowly, then looked at his watch as he rested against me.

"About five minutes," he answered.

"And why did you decide to wake me up?" I asked, yawning.

"Because, Love," here, he kissed my cheek, "we're descending."

"Oh, good...and how long did it take us to get here?"

"I'm not sure. I fell asleep, remember?"

"Yes. Did you sleep well, by the way?"

"Yeah, better than our last night with Bridgette and Dave," he said, then sat up from against me, only to tilt his head back down to kiss me.

"Well, that's good to hear," I grinned, still sleepy, after Rich pulled back.

Throughout the plane, I heard the crew groaning and saw arms stretching. I glanced out of the window to see what I could see.

The United States. New York. Family...I wondered if my brother was doing all right with his drawings and paintings. He was my younger brother (by three years), so I tended to worry about him at times.

I sighed softly as I looked back to Rich.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, just wondering if my brother is doing all right," I answered, grinning to emphasize that I was okay.

"He's a very good artist, from what I've seen, and I'm sure he's doing well," Rich reassured, nuzzling his nose on my cheek. "You worry way too much."

"So what if I do? He's my baby brother, and my son is my son. Like you said: I should worry about him," I retorted.

"All right, you win," he chuckled.

"At least I can win without cheating," I smirked.

"Ooh, touché," he said, then kissed my cheek again.

A few minutes later, the jet touched down and we were permitted to deboard. Once we got off the jet, we walked along the tarmac and into the airport. The crew split up going in different directions until they had to get onto the 747. Rich had been told, by the pilot of the jet, that our flight was going to be delayed an hour more so we could all walk around for a bit.

Rich and I were walking around the little shops when I thought of something.

"Oh, I meant to ask you earlier, but you feel asleep...what did you have to give to the agents?" I asked, shaking a snow globe.

"Carson gave me his gun before I got off the 474. I didn't want to have it in my possession, so I gave it to the FBI," he replied, taking the snow globe from me, and staring at it.

"Oh," was all I could say. The thought of Rich having that sort of weapon on him didn't worry me much…at least it was out of the hands of Carson at the time.

Rich put the snow globe back on the shelf, where I got it from, then we continued to walk around.

After the hour was up, Rich and I headed to the gate where our flight was scheduled to be. Just as we were walking to the plane, Latricia came out of nowhere, and walked with us.

"Hey…where'd you come from?" I asked, as she fell into step on my other side.

"Over there," she pointed to a coffee stand. "Ready to go home?"

"Most definitely. Only about eight more hours, though," I said, sighing.

I felt Rich squeeze my hand, and I looked up at him, grinning ever so slightly.

When the three of us got onto the plane, Latricia left Rich and I, saying she was going to toss her bag somewhere. Rich then turned to me, bringing his hand up to my cheek.

"In just a few hours, we'll be home...with James," he said softly, half grinning, then ran his thumb over my cheekbone.

"I know," I replied, nodding once.

I tilted my head up, as Rich tilted his down, for our customary kiss.

"See you soon," he said, removing his hand from my cheek.

I nodded again as we turned to go our separate ways.

Walking into the small galley in between first and business class, I spotted Latricia, sneaking a drink of coffee already.

"Starting early, eh?" I asked from behind her.

She jumped a little, then turned around. "Did you have to sneak up on me?"

"Of course," I grinned, evilly.

"Right...I needed caffeine. The nap on the jet wasn't enough to satisfy and left me more sleepy," she said.

"Just wait until you have kids. You won't know the difference between night and day," I said...from experience.

"I'll take your word for it...mom," she teased, nudging my elbow.

"Oh, very funny," I laughed.

After Latricia finished her coffee, we stood in our positions for when the passengers boarded.

Once the passengers were allow to board, I kept an eye out for anyone I'd want to dump something on. I was hopeful when a woman on a cell phone came my way, but was disappointed when she pulled the phone away from her head to say hello.

It looked like I was going to have to behave, again, this time...sigh.

As soon as the passengers were seated and ready for take off, Latricia and I took our seats, and strapped in just as Rich and Lars rolled the plane into the short lineup.

It had stopped snowing, but some still remained on the ground, so a few flights had been cancelled, depending on where they were going.

In the air, Rich said his normal speech, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Latricia looked over to me with a confused look, but I just shook my head and waved my hand, dismissing it. At the correct height, Rich and Lars turned off the seatbelt signs, and the clicking sounded throughout the cabin. Latricia and I moved to the galley and was soon joined by Elias and Fiona to serve drinks.

"Where's Katerina?" Latricia asked Fiona.

"She said she wasn't feeling too well, and asked for me to help," she explained.

"Did she really look sick?" Latricia asked.

Elias and I gathered drinks for our cart, while the other two spoke, but I kept an ear open to the conversation.

"Yeah, she was looking slightly green, actually," Fiona replied.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Latricia nod, but she looked suspicious. I stepped over to her.

"Search her out later. I think it sounds a little odd, too, but serve the passengers first," I said quietly to her.

She nodded, then I moved back to my cart. Elias and I wheeled the cart to the aisle.

"Dumping anything?" he asked, leaning over the cart.

"Nope," I sighed. "Not yet, anyway."

"Rats," he snapped his fingers.

Grinning, we moved the cart, and served the passengers their drinks. I had two requests for alcoholic beverages, so once the non-alcoholic drinks were served, and Elias and I returned to the galley, I went on a hunt for Bill. When I found him, he mixed the drinks, then I delivered the drinks to the two passengers. Returning to the small galley, I grabbed two cups and filled them with coffee...for Rich and Lars.

Latricia came into the galley and looked at me as I readied the coffee.

"I'm going to search for her now," she said, then turned.

"Tricia, wait," I stopped her. She did stop and turned back to me. "Wait five minutes and I'll help you."

"All right, but make it a quick five," she said.

"I'll do what I can," I said, then picked up the cups of coffee.

Carefully walking to the flight deck with the coffee, I leaned my back against the door, then knocked with my heel. Seconds later, Rich opened the door, letting me in.

"Coffee?" he asked, taking the proffered cup from me.

"Coffee," I confirmed, grinning. "You have to remember that Sharon will give you tea as soon as you walk in her door...and that stuff is better than the crap we have on board."

"That is true," he agreed, then took a sip of the coffee.

I walked over to Lars and gave him his coffee.

"Danke, Jo," he said.

"Bitte schon."

Turning back to Rich, I blew a lock of hair out of my eyes.

Rich chuckled as he set down the cup next to his seat. He then stepped up to me, putting an arm around my waist, while the other reached up and tucked the mutinous hair behind my ear.

"Thank you, Captain," I said softly.

"You're welcome, Love," he replied, then bent down to lightly kiss me.

"I can't stay long. Latricia needs my help," I said, once we parted.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, slightly concerned.

"It's nothing we can't handle. Don't worry about it," I said, putting my arms around his neck. "Just a lazy attendant, we think."

Rich rose an eyebrow. "Keep me informed. We don't need laziness."

"I will, sir," I replied, then kissed him again before dropping my arms from around him.

"I'll be back later," I rose my voice so Lars could hear me also. "If you need anything...well, you know what to do."

Turning to the door, I opened it, and left, closing it behind me. I then headed back to the galley, where Latricia was waiting for me. Fiona was there, also.

"Can we go now?" Latricia asked me, impatiently. "Fiona will cover for us."

"Yeah, let's go," I responded. "Any ideas to where she might be?"

"I have a hunch."

"Then lead on."

And she did. We walked through business class, through coach, and to the back of the plane, into the last galley, where there were some bunks for the crew to nap in. We heard giggling, whispers, and kissing noises behind one of the curtained bunks. Latricia and I looked at each other, sighed softly, then we both cleared our throats.

The sounds ceased and the curtain to the bottom bunk was pulled back slightly, revealing the heads of Katerina and Eric.

"Shit," Eric cursed quietly.

"You're damn right 'shit'. Get out here," I said sternly, but not raising my voice.

While the two climbed out of the bunk, Latricia put her hands on her hips and looked at them angrily, while I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned at them. The two then stood in front of us with their hands behind their backs, looking as if they were little kids caught stealing a cookie before dinner.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" Latricia asked them...no, demanded of them.

I put my hand on her shoulder to shut her up, while the two sputtered a response.

"All right, shut up," I said to them. "This is getting reported to the airline. You do know that, right?"

They nodded, looking at the floor.

"And you realize that your jobs are now in jeopardy?"

Again, they nodded.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?"

They looked at each other before Eric looked at me. "What about you and the captain?"

"What _about_ me and the captain?"

"You're always with him..."

"He's not alone on the flight deck, Eric. And the reason I'm 'always with him', as you put it, is NOT because he's my husband, but because it's my job. I serve the pilots, keep them awake, so you, and all these other people, can live to see another day. We keep work and play seperate, so to speak."

Eric's shoulders slumped as what I said sank in.

"I think we should prevent this from happening again," Latricia said from my left, calmer now.

I nodded. "I have an idea. I may seem childish, but it'll probably work." I paused for the tension to increase for the two. "Eric, you will be up in first and business classes with us. Katerina, you will be in coach under the watch of Patty. You can speak with each other, but your conversations WILL be short. You will continue with your duties as attendants and serve the passengers. And if this happens again, you can kiss you jobs good-bye, and will be reported immediately to the captain. Am I understood?"

"Yes. Crystal clear," Katerina said after sighing.

"Yes. Understood," Eric answered.

"Good. Eric, go with Latricia. Katerina, stay here for a moment," I instructed.

Eric walked away with Latricia right behind him. I think I scared Katerina into not moving because when I went to call Patty back, then looked back at the girl, she hadn't moved anywhere.

"Patty, could you keep an eye on Katerina for the rest of the flight? Had a bit of an issue," I asked the mid-aged woman when she came into the galley.

"Sure. May I ask what happened?"

I then went on to tell her the situation between the two and the arrangements I had made.

"Okay, no problem," she said, smiling, once I had finished my explanation.

"All right. I'll see how things are later," I said, then left the two to go back to business and first classes.

As I was about to walk completely through the galley in between coach and business, Elias stopped me. Turning and walking out of the aisle, I saw that Bill was there too.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked, bringing a hand to my forehead.

"We heard you snap Eric and Katerina into actually doing work. Good job," Elias said, giving me a thumbs up.

"What?" I asked, looking between the two.

"Those two have been at it when not needed every time we fly. You should have seen them in the hanger in Newfoundland," Bill said.

"I'm glad I didn't. I had other things on my mind," I replied.

"Your son?" Elias guessed.

"Yeah."

"Anyway," Bill said, getting back to the conversation. "Are you really going to report them?"

"I have to. They weren't doing their jobs. I'm going to suggest that they be members of different airlines, then they can't fool around, instead of being fired," I answered.

"When?" Elias asked.

"I'm not sure. It depends on what happens when I get home. Possibly the morning after I get home, I'll call the airline," I answered.

"Do it as soon as you can. I don't know if I can stand them making out much longer," Bill said.

"I'll do what I can," I said. "Now, get back to work." I grinned, then walked out of the galley and through business to the galley in between business and first class.

Leaning against the wall, I brought my hands up to rub my eyes as I took a deep breath. As I thought about the situation, I realized that it could have turned ugly if I wasn't as calm as I had been.

Latricia walked into the galley just as I lowered my hands.

"Jo, you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Fine," I answered, forcing a grin.

"You handled that very well. I think I would have ripped off their heads."

"That's why I stepped in."

"Good thinking, then."

Latricia grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with water, then handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said quietly, but didn't drink, just stared down into the cup.

"Jo? Are you sure you're all right? You look a little pale," Latricia asked, from across the galley.

"Yeah, I'm..."

I didn't get to finish my sentence, and I guess I wasn't okay...I passed out.

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**A/N:**_ Well, that's gotta suck, don't ya think?_

_I'm going to go back to yelling at the TV now...maybe the next game won't be so bad..._


	20. Home

**A/N: **_Okay, new chapter. Here ya go. Oh, and NO reviews for that cliffhanger? Man, what'll please you people...?_

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"Jo...Jo...Joanna..."

I knew that voice...

Opening my eyes, I saw Rich directly above me, looking worried. Panting to get my breath back, I looked around to see not only Rich, but Latricia, Fiona, Elias, Bill, and Eric standing around me.

"Jo, are you all right?" Rich asked, still looking worried.

"I-I think so...what happened?" I asked, after I got my breath back.

I attempted to sit up, so Rich moved behind me, and helped me, making me lean against the wall as I sat on the floor.

"You passed out, Jo. I saw your eyes roll back, then caught you before you hit the floor," Latricia began to explain. "Fiona came in, and I told her to get Rich."

Rubbing my forehead, I nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes. Maybe about three," Latricia said.

"Oh, good," I mumbled.

"All right. Get back to the passengers. She'll be fine," Rich said, getting the galley cleared out.

When it was just me, Rich, and Latricia in the galley, Rich kneeled in front of me, as Latricia handed me another cup of water (the first one she gave, I had dropped on the floor when I passed out). With a 'thanks', I took the water from her, and sipped it. She left the galley to keep an eye on Eric, leaving me alone with Rich.

"Are you going to be all right, Love?" he asked, putting his hand on my cheek.

"Yeah, I think I just over-stressed myself," I said, but refused to go any further when he gave me a look. "If you want to know the story, ask Latricia."

"I will...Just stay here for a few minutes. At least until you stop shaking, then take it easy from now on. Okay?" he said, leaning closer to me.

"I'll do the best I can," I said softly, smirking slightly.

Rich kissed my cheek, then stood, and left the galley...I think he went to look for Latricia to get the details.

I stared down at the water in my hands, then took a long drink. I let go of the cup with my right hand and watched as it shook slightly.

"Damn it," I muttered, letting my hand drop onto my lap, and leaning my head back against the wall.

After a few more minutes, I got up from the floor, then leaned against the wall until I felt I could move without falling over. Just to be safe, I downed the rest of the water, then chucked the cup in a trashcan. Latricia came back into the galley, then.

"Feeling better?" she asked me.

"Yeah, a lot better...but I'll be even better when I get home," I replied softly.

"Yeah..." she mumbled, then rose her voice back to normal level. "Are you good to serve?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll get Elias and Eric if you want to start getting the food carts ready?"

"Sure," I grinned. "Oh, did Rich talk to you?"

"He did."

"Okay..."

Latricia then walked out of the galley to go get the boys, while I moved around the galley, pulling the carts out and filling them with food trays. When Latricia came back in with Elias and Eric, Elias asked if I was all right. With a grin and an eye roll, I said I was, and not to bring it up again. The four of us served the passengers their food; Elias with me and Eric with Latricia...I'm sure that was just so she could intimidate him.

Once the passengers were served, I took a seat, taking another drink of water, as Elias took care of the cart.

Things were calm for the rest of the flight. We didn't have any trouble with the passengers and no other trouble from Eric and Katerina. I'm pretty sure word of what happened and what I did traveled through the crew like a wildfire in California...and every one of the crew members came up to thank or congratulate me at some point.

After many hours, I felt Lars and Rich start to descend the plane. They turned on the fasten seatbelt signs, and after a few minutes, when the clicking of belts stopped, Latricia and I walked the aisles of our classes, checking the seatbelts.

About half an hour or so later, the plane touched down, and we set up for deboarding. The passengers could NOT deboard fast enough.

No one had any idea how much I wanted to get off that damn plane, into our car, pick up our son, and get back home.

Once the passengers were off, I had to wait for the rest of the crew before Latricia, Lars, Rich, and I got off. After they were off, I practically ran to get off the plane and into the airport. Once inside the airport, the four of us stood together as we said our good-byes. Lars left first, saying that he would see Rich soon…which I didn't doubt. Latricia then came up to me and gave me a hug.

"Take care, and I'll call you as soon as Jerry and I figure out details," she said in my ear.

"Okay, good," I grinned, even though she couldn't see it.

We pulled apart, then after a quick good-bye to Rich, Latricia left.

"Can we please leave now?" I pleaded with Rich as Latricia walked away.

"We can. I just have to call Sharon to let her know we're on our way," he replied, taking my hand, and lifting it to his lips.

"Well, let's go," I said, starting to walk to the nearest phone. "I really want to get James and go home."

"So do I, Jo, but you have to be patient. I can't just snap my fingers and we'll magically be there," he said, stopping me, and looking into my eyes.

"I know that, but..." I sighed. "I just really need to have James in my arms, Rich. I have to see him."

"I'm completely aware of that, but if you get to Sharon's in the state you're in now, James will pick up on that and figure that something's very wrong."

"Yeah...okay," I sighed again, lowering my gaze from Rich.

Rich set his bag down, then wrapped his arms tightly and securely around me.

"I'm sorry. I just miss him so much," I said softly in his ear with a sniff.

"I know, Love. I know," he said, rubbing my back.

I pulled back after a moment, then kissed Rich. "I'm okay now. Can we go?"

"Yeah, let's just call Sharon first."

Nodding, we went over to the nearest phone and called Sharon telling her we'd be there in an hour or so. After Rich hung up, we quickly walked to the employee parking lot to get our car. Tossing our bags in the trunk, we then got in, and drove to Sharon's house...Rich held onto my hand the whole time, and he couldn't even guess how much that was keeping me calm.

More or less than an hour and fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to Sharon's house. I took a deep, shaky breath before getting out of the car. As soon as Rich and I opened the car doors, the front door opened to reveal Sharon, grinning. She then stepped to the side, and James came running out and down the stairs.

"Mummy!" he yelled, running up to me.

"James," I said, and kneeled down to his level, opening my arms to him. I didn't even care about my uniform getting dirty.

James ran into my arms and I closed them tightly around his small body. His arms wrapped around my neck. I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes and closed them, then my throat tightened as I held my son close to me.

"I missed you, mommy," he said.

"I missed you, too, sweetie," I responded, squeezing my eyes tighter.

Opening my eyes again, I glanced over at Rich, and when our eyes locked, he nodded then went over to Sharon. They went inside the house and closed the door, leaving me to be alone with my son.

I brought one of my hands up to rest on the back of James' head, while I rubbed his back. After another moment, I let go of his head, and pulled him away from me a little so I could look at him; I wiped at my eyes as I did so.

"Did you have fun with Cole?" I asked him, quietly.

"Yeah," he said, then I saw his eyes well up and his bottom lip quiver.

"What's wrong, James?" I asked, holding his face in my hands.

"I wanna go home, mommy," he said, starting to cry.

"Oh, honey, we'll be home soon. As soon as daddy's done talking to Aunt Sharon, we'll go home," I told him, hugging him to me once again.

"Okay," he squeaked out, crying and burying his head in my shoulder as he threw his arms around my neck.

My knees were staring to hurt from kneeling in the driveway, so I got a good grip on James, then picked him up as I stood. I rocked him in my arms as I walked us around the front yard until his crying slowed down.

As he was calming down, I walked us into the house to look for Sharon and Rich. We found both of them sitting at the kitchen table with cups of tea.

Rich stood as we entered the kitchen.

"Is he all right?" he asked, walking up to us.

"He just wants to go home," I replied, rubbing James' back.

James picked up his head from my shoulder to look at Rich. He took his arms away from my neck, and held them out to his father, wanting to be held by him.

Rich stepped closer to us, then took James from my arms. James latched onto him almost instantly, and I smiled at them. Catching my smile, Rich leaned towards me, then gave me a quick kiss before going back to his chair, taking James with him.

"Would you like some tea, Jo?" Sharon asked, grinning, and standing from her chair.

"Please," I replied, sitting next to Rich, who had sat James on his lap.

Sharon got me a cup of tea, then sat back down as she handed me the cup.

"Thanks," I said, taking the cup from her. "Where are Cole and Jeff?"

"They went to the store to get some food. I doubt they'll be back before you leave," she said, looking between Rich and I.

I nodded. "Did Rich tell you what happened?"

"No, not yet. He demanded tea, first," she grinned.

Laughing, I looked at Rich, then down to James. "Come on, James. Let's get your things." I then looked back up to Rich, silently telling him to tell Sharon about Pratt quickly.

Rich nodded once, then lifted James off his lap, and put his feet on the floor. James then ran out of the room with me chasing after him. I followed him upstairs to Cole's room. We gathered his things, put them in his bag, then after making sure Zeke was with us, we went back downstairs. I placed his bag by the front door, then we went back into the kitchen, where Rich was finishing telling Sharon what had happened.

I sat down in the chair next to Rich again, then sipped my now cold tea as I distracted James with Zeke while Rich finished the last part of our situation.

Once Rich was finished (and I finished my tea), we got ready to leave. At the front door, I gave Sharon a big hug.

"Thank you for watching him," I said.

"You're quite welcome. I'm here if you ever need me again," she replied, with a smile.

"I'll keep it in mind."

Rich then gave his sister a hug, while I took James and his things to the car. I opened the trunk and stuck his bag in, then opened the back door for him after closing the trunk. He crawled in and sat in his car seat, then I got in the seat next to him to strap him in. I handed Zeke to him, then decided to just sit in the back with him on the way home.

Rich got into the car after another minute, then he started the engine as he looked back at me.

"I'm going to sit back here with him," I said.

"I figured you would," Rich grinned, then buckled, started the car, and drove home.

I stared lovingly at Rich for a few more moments before my attention was diverted to James when he looked at me.

"Mommy, did you get me something? Like you said?" he asked.

Chuckling, I put my arm on the back of his car seat, then reached my hand down to move his unruly hair out of his eyes.

"Yes, we got you something, but you have to wait until we get home," I answered, continuing to smile at him.

"Okay," he pouted.

Leaning over, I kissed his forehead, then continued to look at him as I ran my hand through his hair. I glanced at Rich through the rearview mirror and saw him smirking before our eyes locked for just a moment.

A little over an hour later, we arrived back home. As soon as Rich parked the car in our driveway, he got out and went to the trunk to get all of our bags. I unstrapped James from his car seat, lifted him out, and kissed him before I set him on his feet in the driveway. Picking up Zeke, where my son left him in the car, I got out, and closed the door.

"Forgetting someone?" I asked him, shaking the bear slightly.

"Zeke!" he said, running back up to me and snatching the bear from my hands.

James took my hand and we followed Rich into the house. Rich, with his back to me and James, set our bags down by the stairs with a sigh. I walked over to him as James scrambled into the sitting room with Zeke.

"You okay?" I asked my husband, putting my hand on his back.

Without saying a word, Rich turned around quickly, and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and back. He rested his head on my shoulder; his face was in my neck as he breathed against me.

I tried to lift my arms up to reach at least the middle of his back, but he trapped my arms oddly, so I just wrapped my arms securely around his waist. Bringing my right arm up, I rubbed his back as best as I could.

"You're not okay, are you?" I said softly.

He nuzzled me before answering. "I will be. Just give me a minute or two," he sighed.

"Is this relief that we're home, safe, with James?"

He paused before answering in a whisper against my neck: "Yes."

I slipped my right arm from underneath his grasp and brought it up to rest on his neck, where my fingers gently massaged.

"Mommy, can I have my present now?" James asked, coming into the hall.

Rich wasn't about to let go of me.

Turning my head away from Rich to look to my right, down to James, I answered him. "In a few minutes, sweetie." I then had an idea. "Come here."

James sauntered over to Rich and I. I pushed on Rich's chest, so there would be some space between us, then I picked up James. We made a James sandwich (without crushing him) between our bodies.

James wrapped one of his arms around Rich's neck as he rested his head on his shoulder. He rested his other arm on my arm that held him.

Rich's right arm came around my waist, pulling my hip into him, as his left arm also supported James. My free, left arm slid along Rich's back as he leaned his head forward to rest his forehead against mine, closing his eyes lightly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James pick up his head from Rich's shoulder. He stared at us for a moment, then tucked his head underneath my chin; his arm was still around Rich's neck, and he looked uncomfortable. James may have picked up that Rich wasn't feeling to well, and tried to comfort him, giving up his own comfort to do so.

I tapped Rich's back until he opened his eyes. When he looked at me, I shifted my gaze down to James, then back up to meet his gray-green stare. Rich then glanced down to James and noticed the way his arm was awkwardly bent. When he returned his gaze to me, he nodded slightly, then pulled his head back.

"Okay, James, go into the sitting room and we'll bring your presents," Rich said, looking down to his son, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

James lifted his head and smiled broadly. He then tried to wiggle out of our arms, so we set him on the floor, and he went running off into the other room.

I watched my son run off, then turned back to Rich. Putting my hands on either side of his face, I looked directly into his eyes. I would have said something, but I didn't need to.

"I'm all right. I guess I just needed a moment with him...and you," he said, not taking his eyes away from mine for one second.

I stared at him for another moment before I slowly grinned. Taking my hands away from his face, I never let my hands leave his body as my hands slid down to rest on his chest.

When my hands came to a rest, Rich brought his hands up to my face, and held me still as he swooped in and kissed me fiercely, leaving me breathless.

"Mummy! Daddy!" James yelled from the sitting room.

Rich pulled back and we both looked towards the room.

"Just a minute, James," I called to him, panting slightly.

Looking back at Rich, I saw a very familiar gleam in his eyes, and knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Later," I mumbled, then kissed him briefly, before picking up my bag and walking into the sitting room.

When I stepped into the room, James was sitting on the floor in front of the unlit fireplace, clutching Zeke to his chest. I sat on the couch, putting my bag down on the floor before me. As I unzipped my bag to look for James' toys, Rich came into the room and sat next to me. He groaned softly as he sat and put his knees together, making me grin. (I'm sure his pants were getting very uncomfortable.) Once I located James' game and boat at the bottom of my bag, I looked up to him.

"Okay, James, do you want the big present or the little present first?" I asked, smiling at him.

"The big one!"

Out of my bag, I pulled the game. I watched James' reaction as I put the game on the coffee table, and slid it over to him.

His eyes widened and he put Zeke on the floor as he crawled over to the table. He picked the game off the table and smiled wide.

"Can we play now?" he asked, looking between Rich and I.

"Don't you want your other present first?" Rich asked through slightly gritted teeth.

I looked over at him, and he was clenching and unclenching his fist...he wasn't going to be able to keep us company for much longer.

"How about we give you your other present now, but we'll play later tonight, okay?" I asked James, looking back at him.

"Promise?" he asked, setting the game on the floor.

"Yes, I promise," I answered, holding up my hand.

"Okay," he said, grinning.

I went back into my bag, and pulled out the toy boat that was to join his bathtub fleet.

James screeched happily and clapped, then got off the floor (picking up the boat), ran around the coffee table, and jumped on the couch next to me, throwing his arms around my neck as he sat on my lap.

Laughing, I wrapped an arm around him. "Like it?"

"Yes!" he let go of me as he played with the boat.

"Good," I said, then glanced at Rich. He was grinning, but it was forced.

I couldn't take it any more.

"Go. I'll be right up," I whispered to him, while James occupied himself by imitating a boat as he moved it around.

Rich kissed me quickly. "Thank you," he whispered after a sigh.

He got up off the couch and took my bag, along with his, up to our room.

"Okay, James. Want to watch a movie before dinner?" I asked, lifting him up as I stood.

"Yeah," he said, ceasing to make boat noises.

"Thirsty?"

"A little."

"Okay, let's get your cup, then put a movie on," I said.

Walking around the coffee table, I picked up Zeke, then we walked into the kitchen.

I went to the cabinet to get his sippy cup after I set him on the floor, then went to the refrigerator to get the milk. If he drinks warm milk, he'll fall asleep for a while...which was what I (and most definitely Rich) was hoping for. While I warmed up the milk, I watched James as he played with the boat on the kitchen floor. Within seconds, I had the warm milk in the sippy cup, and we went into the family room, where I put one of James' favorite movies in the DVD player.

So, I had everything set up: his attention would be fixed on the television, and he'd fall asleep soon because of the milk. As long as he was able to watch his favorite movie, he'd be glued to the television.

James jumped up on the couch and made himself comfortable with Zeke on his lap. I put a pillow next to him, so he had something to rest his head on when he was feeling sleepy. He was still clutching the boat when I handed him his cup. Grabbing a blanket off the chair that also occupied the room, I brought it over to James.

"Arms up," I said, holding up the blanket.

James lifted his arms (one hand holding the boat, the other holding the cup), and I placed the blanket snuggly around him...another incentive for him to fall asleep.

"All right, sweetie. Daddy and I'll be upstairs for a little bit. After your movie, we'll have dinner, okay?" I asked, picking up the remote to the DVD player.

"Okay," he replied, taking a drink from the cup.

I smiled at him as I hit the play button for the movie. Setting the remote on the table next to the couch, I kissed James' forehead before leaving the room. Just before I left the room, I looked back at James.

"Do you want the light on or off?" I asked.

"Off," he answered, not looking away from the screen.

Grinning, I turned off the light and left the room.

He was okay by himself. Just as long as he fell asleep before his movie was over, Rich and I would be fine also.

I walked up the stairs, down the hall, and into our bedroom, closing the door behind me. Rich was standing at the window, looking out to the front of the house...and he was shirtless and barefoot.

"Where's James?" he asked, not turning around.

"In the family room, watching his favorite movie, and drinking warm milk," I replied, sitting on Rich's side of the bed to watch him, and took off my shoes.

"So he'll be asleep soon?"

"Most likely."

Tossing my shoes to the corner of the room, I stood up and walked over to Rich. Standing behind him, I put my hands on his lower back, right above the waist of his pants. I lightly ran my fingers up his back to his shoulders, making him shiver and moan softly.

I snorted quietly as my hands slid down his biceps to his elbows, where I moved my hands to his hips, wrapping my arms around him, and kissed between his shoulder blades before resting my head there.

Rich put his hands over mine (where they rested on his chest and stomach) and his fingers ran up my arms until he couldn't reach any further, then reversed the trail back down my arms, where he pried my hands off of him just enough so he could turn around, then put my hands on his back.

I looked up into his eyes and saw that the same look from earlier was still there. His gaze was intense as he looked into my light brown eyes.

Rich's hands traveled up my arms to my shoulders...our eyes never leaving the other's. His arms snaked around my shoulders and he pulled me tightly against him as he kissed me. One of his hands slid to the back of my neck and up into my hair to deepen our kiss.

Within another few minutes, Rich slowly maneuvered us towards the bed. As he nudged me backwards, Rich's hands left my shoulders and hair to come to my front, where he went for the buttons of my shirt. My hands went to his belt and pants.

Just as he got the buttons of my shirt undone, the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed, making me sit. Shrugging out of my shirt and tossing it to the floor, I grabbed Rich's arms, and pulled him down on top of me.

While James was entertained downstairs, Rich and I were entertained upstairs for a while.

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**A/N: **_So I was on imdb .com and I noticed that most of my characters are the wrong people...oh well, but that was not updated like it was when I started writing this. I tried._

_Oh, and I asked my team mate, who is also a pilot, about whether 'Rich' would be his first or last name...it's probably his last name, unless the airline prefers to be casual.  
So, let's just pretend that they are lax, for the benefit of the story._

_Reviews would be awesome..._


	21. Dinner and A Massage

**A/N:**_ Disclaimer ('cause I don't really have anything to say)...I do not own anything relating to 'Flightplan' (damn), but I do own Joanna, James, and Zeke, so no touchy._

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Around dinnertime, Rich and I forced ourselves out of bed. Dinner needed to be made and I wanted to check on James.

Disentangling myself from Rich, I got out of bed, and put on my robe. I let Rich stay in bed until he was ready to get up. He was awake, just didn't feel like getting out of the bed yet.

Opening the door of our room, I walked out and down the hall, then down the stairs. When I got to the family room, I turned on the light and went in to turn off the DVD player. Turning to James, I saw he had indeed fallen asleep; his sippy cup was on its side on the floor, the boat was still clutched in his arm along with Zeke, he was wrapped up in the blanket, and was laying completely on the pillow, his mouth hanging open.

Smirking, I pushed a lock of his shaggy hair out of his face, then kissed his forehead. Picking up the tipped cup, I left the room, turning out the light.

I went into the kitchen to start dinner. Taking some boneless chicken out of the refrigerator, I set it in the sink as I took a pan out of the cabinet and set it on the stove. While the pan was heating up, I took the chicken out of the sink, put it on a cutting board, and cut it into portion-sized pieces. I then put the pieces in the pan to cook.

While the chicken was cooking, I got the plates, silverware, and cups out of the cabinets and drawers. Once I set the dinnerware on the table, Rich walked into the kitchen wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt. I grinned at him as I went to the freezer and got out some frozen vegetables as a side dish. When I put the vegetables in another pan and put them on the stove, I stirred the chicken, then leaned my back against the sink.

Rich came up and stood in front of me, placing his hands on my hips. He leaned against me, our bodies molding together.

"Feeling better?" I asked, putting my hands on his arms, near his elbows.

"Much better," he said, smirking that smirk of his, then leaned in to kiss me soundly.

"Good," I replied once he moved his lips from mine to my neck.

We were close enough to the stove, so I reached out with my right hand and stirred the chicken and veggies before wrapping my arms around Rich.

As Rich kissed my neck, I tilted my head back to give him access to my throat...which was where he was anyway. I closed my eyes lightly, as he kissed down my throat to my collar bone, where he brought his right hand up to my shoulder. Sliding the edge of my robe off my shoulder, Rich continued to kiss from my collar bone to my shoulder, then back again. He then kissed down the middle of my chest.

When he reached the spot where the two sides of my robe met, I opened my eyes and picked up my head.

"Rich," I said, my voice coming out strangled, as I attempted to stop him.

"Jo," he said, bringing his lips back up to mine.

"Rich, please..." as much as I loved his kisses (and more), all three of us needed to eat.

"Please what?" he asked, a breath away from my lips.

"Please stop. Dinner's going to burn," I said, but didn't take my arms away from him.

"Let it burn," he growled huskily.

He was being very...passionate ever since we got home.

"If you want to go without food, that's fine, but I want to eat, and I'm sure James will be hungry, too," I replied, reluctantly dropping my arms from around him.

He furrowed his brow at me as his hands dropped from my body...but he still leaned against me.

I sighed as I brought a hand to my eyes. "Once James goes to sleep for the night," I said, softly.

"Okay, fine," he agreed.

Grinning slightly, I reached over to stir the food again.

"I owe you a massage, anyway...body massage, maybe?"

"Yes, you do owe me," Rich wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my shoulder. "Body massage sounds good."

I felt him grin as he kissed my shoulder.

"Dinner's just about ready. Could you wake up James and get him in here?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Sure," he replied, then after another kiss, left the kitchen to go into the family room to get James.

Once the chicken and veggies were done, I took them out of the pans and put them on the plates. Just as I placed the last plate on the table, Rich came back into the room carrying a half-asleep James (still holding onto the boat and Zeke) and the sippy cup.

Walking over to James, I pried the boat out of his hands, and took it to the stairs where it would be put with the others later. Coming back into the kitchen, I saw that Rich and James were sitting at the table.

"What do you want to drink?" I asked, looking over at Rich as I went to the refrigerator.

"Is there any beer left?" he countered.

Opening the fridge, I saw two bottles of the beer left. I took one bottle out, along with the cranberry juice.

"There's another one in there yet," I said, handing the beer to Rich.

He nodded, as he twisted off the cap.

I poured the cranberry juice in my cup before I addressed James. "James, what do you want to drink?"

"Juice," was his sleepy reply after a yawn.

Taking the cranberry juice back to the fridge, I took out the apple juice for James.

"Where's his cup?" I asked Rich.

"On the counter, next to the sink," he answered, nodding in the direction of the sink.

I turned around and took the lid off the cup. Seeing that there was still some milk in the cup, I dumped the rest down the sink, then rinsed it out before pouring the juice in it.

After I put the container back in the fridge, I brought James' cup back over to him. Rich cut up James' chicken, while I put one of each vegetable on his plate.

"Do I have to eat the 'veg-ables'?" James asked, a little more awake once he saw what I put on his plate.

"At least one big bite of each," I said, smirking at the disgusted face he was making.

"What if I don't want to?" he pouted.

"Then we don't play your new game," I responded, looking him in the eye with a straight face.

"But you promised."

"If you don't eat your vegetables, then we don't play the game and you get a bath and go to bed earlier."

It was just a mixture of carrots, snow peas, corn, broccoli, and cauliflower...so I understood why he didn't want to eat them (I was in college by the time I acquired a taste for cauliflower), but I wanted him to eat at least semi-healthy and to try them.

"But mommy..." James started to whine.

"James, do you want to know a trick?" Rich asked him softly, leaning towards him.

James nodded vigorously.

"Hold your nose when you eat the vegetables. You won't be able to taste them."

"Rich!" I chastised, with a smirk that I couldn't help.

"You want him to eat them, don't you?" Rich asked, turning towards me with a devilish grin.

"Well, yes, but...oh, never mind. As long as he eats them," I gave up.

As I went to cut my own chicken, I looked over to James and saw him pinch his nose closed. He brought a piece of broccoli up to his mouth and chewed it, making a face. When he swallowed the veggie, he took his hand away from his nose, then looked at Rich, then me, and smiled wide.

"Very good. Now eat the rest," I said.

James dug into the rest of his food with gusto, as Rich and I took our time.

After we finished eating, I put the plates in the sink, then headed back upstairs to put some clothes on. I tossed my silky pajamas on, then my robe again, before heading back down the stairs to the sitting room. James was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket with Zeke at his side. I think Rich was in the kitchen washing the dishes.

"Are you cold?" I asked James.

He nodded as I went to the fireplace and started a fire. Once the fire was blazing, I sat on the ledge and looked over at my son.

"Come here, we'll warm up," I said, opening my arms to him.

James scooted to the edge of the couch and hopped down, the blanket still around him. He made his way over to me being careful not to trip on the blanket. When he stood in front of me, I turned him around and pulled him onto my lap, wrapping my arms securely around him, and resting my head on top of his.

It seemed that once we got home, I had recovered from what had happened. But even though I had James in my arms, it still felt like the whole situation hit too close to home, even if my life and Pratt's were nothing alike. I wouldn't know what would happen to James if something had happened to Rich and I.

I felt my eyes start to well up, and I held onto James a little tighter. Closing my eyes, I willed myself not to cry again.

When I heard footsteps from the kitchen, I opened my eyes, and looked up at Rich. He looked back at me, then came over to sit next to me on the ledge. I picked my head up off of James' as Rich went to ruffle his hair. Putting his free arm on the back of my neck (under my hair), Rich moved as close as he could to me, then looked into my eyes. After seeing my unshed tears, he leaned towards me, and after nuzzling me, gave me a kiss. We then rested our foreheads together.

"Can we play now?" James asked, tilting his head back against my chest to look up at us.

Rich turned his head to look at James, while my head just fell onto his shoulder.

"Yes, go get it," he said.

I reluctantly let go of James as he got off my lap, leaving the blanket on me, and rushed over to the coffee table to get the game. Rich and I moved to the floor to have our backs against the ledge and the fire. Rich then leaned towards me.

"You going to be all right?" he whispered in my ear.

I nodded, bringing a hand up to my eyes to wipe at them. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Rich kissed my cheek as James came back over to us, carrying the game. James set the game on the floor in front of us, then planted himself back in my lap and I wrapped the blanket back around him. I tickled him and, as he giggled, I smiled.

Rich put his hand on my back and rubbed it before he opened the box of the game.

After three rounds of James' new game (where I won once and James the other two times with some dramatic pouting from Rich), James curled up on my lap and yawned very wide.

"Are you getting sleepy?" I asked, looking down at him, and moving his hair out of his eyes.

"A little," he answered.

"You should be," Rich said looking at the clock on the wall. "It's way past your bedtime."

Looking up at the clock, I saw that Rich was indeed correct. It was two hours past James' bedtime.

"All right, you. Come on, let's get you to bed," I said to James, lifting him into my arms. Somehow, I managed to stand up, then looked back down at Rich. "Could you get this cleaned up? Then I'll meet you in our room."

Rich smirked wolfishly, then nodded as he went to clean up the mess James made with the cards from the game, but stopped me.

"Jo, don't forget Zeke," he said, pointing to the couch.

Nodding, I went to the couch, picked up Zeke, and handed him to James. I took James up to his room and helped him change into a clean set of pajamas. When he was changed, I turned down the sheets to his bed, then went to sit in the rocking chair, while he went to get a book for me to read to him. James came over to me, carrying the book we read the night before Rich and I left. Grinning, I took the book from him, then lifted him onto my lap, and rocked us as I read the book to him.

By the middle of the book, James was fast asleep in my arms. I kissed his forehead as I closed the book and set it on the floor. Slowly, so as not to wake him, I lifted James off my lap, and took him to his bed. After I tucked him in, I kissed him one more time, making sure not to get smacked in the face, then grinned as I watched him for a moment: his mouth slowly hung open as he laid on his back, clutching Zeke to his side.

I walked to the door, then just before I turned out the light, I turned on his plane nightlight. I then turned out his main light, and closed the door most of the way closed.

Heading down and across the hall, I walked into our bedroom, and closed the door behind me, leaning against it with a sigh. Rich was sitting in the chair by the window; he got up and walked over to me.

Leaning down to kiss me, he went for the tie of my robe and untied it. Rich slid his hands under my robe, around my waist, and up my back to my shoulders. He slid my robe off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

I wrapped my arms around his neck to deepen our kiss, then ran my fingers through his hair. Bringing my hands to his back, I pulled his shirt up and over his head slowly, letting it fall to the floor with my robe. Then I pushed him away from me, smirking devilishly. He looked down at me with a confused look, but I just kept smirking, and pushed him back towards the bed. Running into the edge, he stumbled, and sat on the bed. Moving swiftly, I jumped up on the bed behind him and put my hands on his shoulders.

"I said I'd give you a massage," I whispered seductively in his ear, starting my massage.

"Mmm, and you're doing a good job so far, Love," he replied, tilting his head back with closed eyes.

"And I'm not even close to being done with you, Captain," I continued to whisper.

Let me just say that Rich and I were up for most of the night...

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**A/N:** _Just a heads up:_ _The next chapter looks like it'll be the last one. So enjoy this story while you can...if you don't, then why the hell did you stick around?_

_Reviews, please? I'll take anything at this point._


	22. Morning Snowfall

**A/N: **_Last chapter, so enjoy it!_

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The next morning, I was being poked into waking up. Groaning, I opened my eyes and turned my head to the left (since I was laying on my stomach) to see James standing on my side of the bed, ready to poke me again. He smiled as he stopped poking.

"What is it, James?" I asked quietly, so I didn't wake Rich...who was practically laying on top of me: his arm was thrown over my back, while his head rested between my shoulder blades, and everything from his hips down was covering me.

"It's time to get up," he said quietly, also.

"Go back to sleep, sweetie. Daddy and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night," I said, pretty sure he didn't understand the meaning behind it.

"But I don't want to go back to sleep," he whined, softly.

"Then come here," I said, lifting the edge of the sheets.

Sure I wasn't clothed, but James was still young enough not to care. Rich and I were gods to him, so whatever we did wasn't frowned on by him.

James crawled up onto the bed and under the sheets. He then curled up at my side as I slung an arm over him.

Rich grunted, then mumbled something incoherent as he tightened the arm around my back and moved his legs more over me.

I didn't know if James fell back asleep, but I sure did.

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A few hours later, I woke up again. This time, for the day.

James was still curled up beside me, and Rich was still mostly on top of me. I slowly lifted my arm off of James (since it was going numb), then just as slowly, turned onto my back, being careful not to injure Rich (whose head laid on my shoulder then) or James. I sighed lightly as I looked from my son to my husband, then stared at the ceiling.

Rich's eyes fluttered open after another few minutes. He grinned at me as I looked back at him. I lifted my head to look at the clock on my nightstand, then back to Rich.

"Good afternoon," I said quietly.

"Is it afternoon?" he grumbled, raising his head off my shoulder.

"It is," I replied as he leaned over to kiss me. "And we had a visitor this morning." I looked over to James, who had uncurled, but was still glued to my side.

Rich looked over me to James. "How long has he been here?"

"He came in earlier this morning. I told him to go back to sleep, but complained that he didn't want to, so I let him rest next to me," I answered. "I guess he fell asleep again."

"Obviously," Rich said, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Very funny," I responded, sarcastically.

His face turned serious. "Are you okay? Not worried about him...for the time being?" He nodded in James' direction.

"I'm fine," I replied with a smirk. "I swear."

Rich smirked, then kissed me again before stretching. He then lifted the covers. "I'm going to take a shower." He said before he got out of bed.

"Okay, we'll be here," I smiled.

He grinned as he grabbed his discarded sweatpants, then pulled them on, and left the bedroom to go to the bathroom.

Once Rich was out of the room, I turned on my side to face James; he was on his side, facing me. I shifted the sheets a little so his head was uncovered, but I was still covered. Propping my head up on my hand, I looked down at my son, and grinned. I brought my free hand up to lightly run it through his hair.

He really did need to get his hair cut.

After about ten minutes, when James started twitching, I removed my hand from his head, to rest it on his shoulder lightly, rubbing my thumb on the joint. He rolled onto his stomach, then opened his eyes, looking up at me.

"Hi, mommy," he said sleepily.

"Hi, sweetie," I replied, leaning over to kiss his forehead and removing my hand from him. "Did you sleep well?"

He nodded, then went to push himself up into a sitting position. I held my free arm over my chest to keep myself covered as James lifted the sheet when he sat up.

"Where's daddy?" he asked, looking beyond me to the other side of the bed.

"He's taking a shower," I answered. "Which is what you and me will be taking when he comes back." I tapped his nose with my finger, making him giggle.

No point in using so much hot water.

I looked at him for another moment before opening my arms. "Come here."

He leaned into me, tucking his arms against his chest as mine wrapped around him. Pulling him against me, I rolled onto my back (making him laugh), and gave a big kiss to his cheek. He smiled, as I dropped my arms from around him, and he sat up on my stomach.

Just then, Rich came back into the room, wearing just his sweatpants, and rubbing a towel on his head. He paused in the doorway, looking at us, then grinned and came into the room.

"Hi, daddy," James said happily, after he saw Rich walk in.

"Hello, James," he replied, then sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled James over to him to kiss his head. "What are you doing sitting on mummy?"

"She pulled me on," he said, pointing at me.

Grinning, I grabbed his hand, pulling him back down on me, then tickled his sides. He wiggled, laughing, and kicked out, trying to get away, but Rich grabbed his feet. When I stopped tickling him, Rich let go of his feet, and he calmed down.

"All right, you. Let's go," I said, lifting him off me to set him on the bed, next to Rich.

"Where are you two going?" Rich asked, as I rolled out of the other side of the bed and snatched up my robe from the floor.

"Mommy says we're taking a shower," James responded, as I saw him swing over the edge of the bed next to Rich and dangle his feet.

"Oh, really?" Rich asked, looking over his shoulder to me.

"Just thought we could save some water," I answered, grinning, as I tossed my robe over my shoulders and tied the tie around my waist.

"You could have told me that. I would have taken him."

"Ah, but then we couldn't have fun without you."

Rich rolled his eyes, then picked James up off the bed. He brought him over to me, and James practically jumped into my arms, wrapping his arms around my neck.

"You can get something to eat if you want," I said to Rich. "Just don't burn down the kitchen."

With that, James and I left the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. We took a short shower; most of the time, I held James and sang off-key songs (I'll admit I don't sing very well, but I do whatever I have to do to get James to smile). Once we were done in the shower, I dried off and put my robe back on, then wrapped James in his towel, and took him back down the hall to his room...still singing.

In his room, I pulled his clothes out of the drawers, while he sat on his bed, laughing as I danced around the room.

"Go downstairs and find daddy. Tell him to keep you busy for a few minutes," I said, once he was dressed, as I lifted him off the bed and set him on the floor.

After he scurried out of the room, I left also, and headed back to my room. I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, then headed downstairs myself.

Walking into the sitting room, I found Rich and James sitting on the couch, staring into the fire Rich had started. James was sitting next to Rich, resting his head near his shoulder (since he couldn't quite reach that high), and Rich had his arm around James' shoulders.

"You call this keeping him busy?" I asked my husband.

"Better than running around the house, isn't it?" he countered.

"True," I said softly. "Did you eat?"

"Yeah, and the kitchen is still standing. There's coffee out there for you," he answered, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

"Then, did you feed him?" I pointed to James.

"No."

"Hungry, James?" I asked my son.

He nodded.

"Well, come on. We'll go eat something."

James hopped off the couch, and we went into the kitchen. I pulled out two bowls and filled them with cereal, then poured some milk over it. James and I ate quietly. When we finished, James got off his chair and headed back in to sit with Rich, while I washed out the bowls.

I went back into the sitting room when I was finished and saw the two playing the game we got James...and from the looks of it, James was winning. I stood behind the couch, leaning on it, while they finished the round.

When Rich threw down the card in his hand, I knew James had won.

"You're very smart, son," Rich said, ruffling James' hair, then looked up at me. "Want to join us?"

"Not this time. I have a phone call to make," I said, walking around the couch.

"The airline?"

"Yeah," I sighed softly. "Keep playing with him for a while until I get it sorted out, will you?"

"Of course."

Nodding once, I headed up the stairs to the end of the hall and into the office. I sat in the chair in front of the computer, then rolled said chair across the room to grab our book of phone numbers. Bringing it back to the computer and phone, I opened it to the airline's number and dialed. I talked to my supervisor and told her about the situation between Eric and Katerina. I also told her of my suggestion to just have them working for different airlines instead of being fired. She agreed, but it really wasn't her decision in the end; she said she'd do what she could, though.

When I hung up the phone, I tossed the book of numbers back onto the table across the room, then let my head fall back, and brought my arms up to rub my face with a growl.

"All right?"

Taking my hands away from my face and tilting my head back down, I looked towards the door at Rich, who was standing in the frame.

"Yes, just glad to have that over and done with," I answered.

He came into the room, and spun the chair around so I was facing him. Kneeling down in front of me, he put his hands on my knees, then stared into my eyes.

"Which part?" he asked in a whisper.

"Every part," I said, also whispering.

Rich slid his hands up my thighs and all the way up my arms. When his hands stopped, I lifted my arms up and wrapped them around his neck as I slid off the chair and kneeled on the floor directly in front of him. Pulling him tightly to me, I rested my head on his shoulder, my face in his neck. He wrapped his arms around my back, also holding me tightly.

"God, Rich..." I said in his ear, holding him tighter.

"Tell me what's on your mind, Love," he said, softly.

"I don't ever want to fly on an E-474 ever again," I replied. "I hate that shitty plane."

"I don't want to fly it, either. It was a pain in the arse to fly."

I snorted, then pulled away from him, looking into his eyes. Then I shifted my arms to let my hands come to either side of his neck. Swiftly, I pulled him into a kiss. When I pulled back, I just stared at him for a few moments, then slid my hands down his arms to take his hands, as I leaned my head against his chest.

Rich squeezed my hands and at the same time I took a deep breath.

"Where's James?" I asked, lifting my head up.

He opened his mouth to respond, but we heard the short, running strides coming down the hall, signaling that James was on his way. Our son stopped in the doorway.

"Mummy, daddy!" he said excitedly, practically jumping up and down.

"What James?" I asked, releasing Rich's hands, and beckoning James over to me.

He hopped, then ran over to me. Standing at my side, he put his hand on my shoulder, and bounced on the balls of his feet.

"It's snowing!" he screeched.

"Is it?" I asked him, but glanced at Rich, grinning.

James nodded vigorously. "Yeah, look!" He pointed to the window.

I stood from the floor, then walked over to the window in the office...James following me. Glancing out the window, I saw that it was, in fact, snowing; and it was coming down a little heavy.

"Well. Would you look at that?" I mumbled.

James tugged on my jeans. When I looked down at him, he lifted his arms to me, and clenched and unclenched his fists (which meant he wanted to be picked up). Smiling, I bent down slightly to lift James up and onto my hip.

While James stared out of the window to watch the snow fall, I looked back at Rich, who still sat on the floor. I motioned with my head for him to join us at the window. He got up from the floor, smirking and shaking his head, and walked up behind me. Kissing my temple, he rubbed James' back, then looked out the window.

"Indeed, it is snowing," he said softly.

"Can we play?" James asked, very excitedly, looking up at Rich with wide eyes and a very large smile.

"Not right now. We have to wait until it covers the ground and stops," Rich replied.

"But when it does stop, as long as there's still light, we'll go out and play," I said. "And we have to hit daddy with some snowballs." I added with a grin, leaning towards my son.

James bounced in my arms and squealed. He then squirmed to get down, so I set him back on the floor and he ran out of the room and down the hall.

Rich was still behind me as I turned back to look out the window. Pressing up against my back, he wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my right shoulder. Tilting my head back, I leaned it against his shoulder. I then brought my right arm up to loop around his neck. Rich turned his face and kissed my neck then my collarbone.

After another few moments, I picked my head up, and dropped my arm. Rich lifted his head, as well. I turned in the circle of his strong arms to face him and threw my arms around his neck. Looking into his eyes again, I grinned, and (once he grinned back) kissed him.

When I pulled back, I readjusted my arms, then hugged him close. Rich moved his own arms to hold me tight and ran his left hand up and down my back.

"Are you done in here?" he asked, softly, in my ear.

"Yes, I'm done," I replied.

"Then let's go downstairs."

Nodding against his shoulder, I kissed his cheek as I pulled back. We then let go of each other; Rich took my hand as we left the office and went downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, we went into the sitting room and saw James on the floor, playing with the boat we got for him from Germany...he had yet to stop playing with it.

James smiled up at us as we came into the room. Smirking back, I let go of Rich's hand, and went over to the couch. Rich followed me and sat with his back against the arm and back of the couch. I brought my legs up onto the couch, then leaned against my husband as he brought his arm up across the front of my shoulders. I grinned up at him as I brought my own arm up to hold onto his. I looked back at James and saw that he had stopped playing with the boat, and was now watching Rich and I.

Lifting my free arm, I beckoned James over to us. Smiling, he jumped up off the floor, and ran over to the couch (still holding onto the boat), jumping up on it. He sat on my lap, then turned to his side, resting his body against mine and his head on Rich's arm.

Releasing Rich's arm, I wrapped both of my arms around my son. I felt him sigh as I began to rub his back.

For the first time in a long while, I was content; Rich and I were home, we were both safe, and James was in my arms safe and sound...and that's how I wanted it to stay for the rest of my life.

************************

**A/N: **_I always have a hard time ending stories without it sounding too corny. I hope this wasn't too bad. It's better than some endings of mine, that's for sure (I think)._

_For anyone who stuck with me to the end, thanks!  
_


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